Thursday 6 March at 12:52 : Former grand prix winner Eddie Irvine has slammed F1's governing body for turning the pinnacle of motor racing into "tiddlywinks".

The 42-year-old Ulsterman, who nearly won the title for Ferrari before retiring as a Jaguar driver in 2002, accuses the FIA of dumbing down formula one to the point that it is no longer a true sport.

Irvine told the Guardian newspaper that he subscribes to legendary American novelist Ernest Hemingway's quote that only bullfighting, mountaineering and motor racing are sports -- "all the rest are merely games".

But "formula one seems intent on trying to become a game," Irvine said.

He does not agree that trying to slow down the cars and ramping up safety should be the primary focus of the FIA.

"Now it's not much of a gladiatorial contest," he said, observing that the FIA has been influenced by governments "who have other agendas than sporting competition".

"Take Monaco," Irvine said. "It used to be the ultimate test of a driver not making a mistake. Now they have changed the swimming pool, taken out barriers.

"It's as if they have said: 'Let's make this circuit as easy as we can'."