The Observer

And so the summer of sporting discontent continues. Cheating, corruption and scandal have dominated the headlines on the back pages of newspapers, and the soundbites on TV sports reports, around the world.

In fact, the sleaze that has left grubby paw prints all over football, athletics, cycling, horse racing and now cricket has left motor racing - and in particular Formula One - almost looking like one of the last outposts of sporting integrity. Never thought I'd write that sentence!

Of course, F1 is hardly whiter than white. The 'gamesmanship' that Michael Schumacher has consistently fallen back on (see Monaco in May) is as much a part of modern motor racing as play-acting and diving is in football.

And as the world championship heads towards what should be a thrilling climax, expect more psychological warfare spilling over on to the track.

Already, Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have been feeling the pressure. Alonso lost his rag with Schuey at Hockenheim when the Ferrari pulled out into the pitlane right in front of the Renault during qualifying.

Then in Hungary, it's possible that Alonso got his revenge by lifting off and forcing Schumacher to pass him under red flags, Michael earning a penalty for the indiscretion.

But during the same weekend, Fernando gained a damaging penalty himself by brake-testing and weaving at Red Bull third driver Robert Doornbos during a relatively unimportant Friday practice session.

Michael Schumacher chases Fernando Alonso in the Hungarian Grand Prix © LAT

Then, in the race, some have argued that Schuey should have been penalised for his strident defensive tactics as he vainly tried to hold off Pedro de la Rosa's McLaren.

It's all niggly stuff, born from the electric tension that brews during a title battle at this time of year. In fact, it should not be unwelcome. Human failings, the greatest drivers of their generation making mistakes under pressure - that's what sport is all about.

Gamesmanship might not be palatable to the purist's sensibilities, but the incidents witnessed in the past two races are a long way from the deep-seated cynicism on show in other sporting arenas.

The World Cup overshadowed just about everything during July, but it was not a great advert for football. In fact, for many it left a bitter taste that will linger long into the new season.

To see some of the world's greatest players resorting to blatantly dirty tactics in attempt to win free kicks and get fellow professionals sent off created a chasm of disenchantment. At least Schuey was punished for his cynicism at Rascasse - Starting from the back of the grid could still cost him an eighth world title this year.

The players' lack of respect for each other and their game, combined with the match-fixing scandal that tore apart Italian club football - just as the national team unsatisfactorily stuttered to their fourth world championship - has damaged the world's most popular sport more than has yet been realised.

But it's in a better state than athletics and cycling.

The needle tracks of drug scandals have scarred both sports for years. But it has got to the stage where no one can watch the Tour de France or a major athletics meet without doubting every competitor.

If 2006 Tour winner Floyd Landis is stripped of his title because of drugs, and the 'B' sample of multiple sprint gold medallist Marion Jones proves to be positive, cycling and athletics will hit new depths from which neither sport might fully recover.

Has motor racing got a drug problem? Some drivers privately admit it's possible. But although some have been caught out by random tests - for example, Tomas Enge when he was in Formula 3000 - the drug issue has never caught on as a significant problem in our sport. Let's hope it never does.

What about race fixing? That's what has now undermined horse racing in England so badly. Kieren Fallon is a six-time champion jockey, perhaps the greatest rider of his generation. But even if he is cleared of the criminal charges he is facing for race fixing, Fallon's reputation - and that of his sport - will always be tainted by doubt.

Rubens Barrichello pulls over to allow Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to take victory in the 2002 Grand Prix of Austria © LAT

In contrast, motor racing has at least two examples of race fixing that are so blatant they were never even questioned. Twice Ferrari became entangled in messy finishes to races - at the Austrian and US Grands Prix of 2002.

In the first, Rubens Barrichello was ordered to cede victory to Michael Schumacher for the good of the team's championship challenge, and then Michael repaid the favour at Indianapolis.

Schuey and his team were vilified by the public and the press for such arrogance, and rightly so. To fix race results so openly showed a complete lack of respect for the ethics of sport. But they weren't punished, even if at least a new rule banning team orders was created in the wake of these incidents.

These were difficult times for F1. But again, what motor racing faced in 2002 was nowhere near as serious as the situation in which horse racing now finds itself.

On those occasions, Ferrari and Schuey were guilty of ugly cynicism - but not ingrained corruption that undermined the fabric of their sport. The horse racing world must be collectively holding its breath, hoping that Fallon is cleared of all charges.

And now this week cricket is the latest sport to be thrown into crisis, with the ball tampering scandal that occurred during the fourth Test between England and Pakistan on Sunday.

Will this be like Austria and Indy in 2002 - an incident hugely damaging to a sport's reputation, but one from which recovery is possible? Sadly, we can't be sure.

Pakistan's outrage at the chain of events at the Oval could split the sport. It's incredible - out of the blue, cricket is living through what could prove to be a defining crisis. It might never be the same again.

So never mind drawn out discussions about engine homologation and threats of breakaway series (thankfully history, but unsettling for far too long). In the context of what is going on in other sports, motor racing is in good shape.

Through all the sad and disappointing news of late, we cling on to the hope that sport can still be uplifting, life-affirming. In golf, Tiger Woods is proving that it can be: back-to-back Majors in the wake of the death of his beloved father.

Now it's up to Schuey and Alonso. They have a chance to show that F1 is still a sporting spectacle to be relished.

A bit of gamesmanship drama is probably inevitable - and it will admittedly add a bit of spice - but a clean, thrilling battle down to the wire at Interlagos would be a tonic.

Not just for motor racing - but perhaps more importantly, for sport as we know it.