Jag ace calls for leniency in Enge case

Asked his opinion of the situation at Monza, Irvine said: "He could just have been sat in a room while people were smoking pot. It's happened to me, and I've smelt it and immediately left the room because I know it's very easy to detect and stays in your system longer than any other drug. It could've been caught that way very, very easily.

"Everywhere you go now - in pubs or walking down the street - there's people smoking away. It's unfortunate. If you're sitting in a room where there's four or five people lighting up you're going to get nailed - and maybe he didn't think of that. You've got to have your wits about you.

"No-one's ever been caught in F1, it's not performance enhancing, for sure. I don't know what the level was but you've got to give him the benefit of the doubt. Cannabis is everywhere - if you're just sitting in a pub then you will get nabbed for it. Maybe the reading was off the clock, I don't know, but I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Enge himself appeared emotional drained due to the stress of the last few days when he appeared in the FIA F3000 top three qualifying press conference in Italy.