It is somewhat ironic that the man, and indeed the team, that has done most to calm the waters during the ongoing Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association (GPMA) saga, attempting to prevent the split that threatened Formula One, is now at the centre of a new dispute which threatens the sport, and which has seen him threatened with being hauled before the FIA, accused of bringing the sport into disrepute.

The decision to punish Fernando Alonso with a 5-spot grid penalty, after he was adjudged to have impeded Felipe Massa during Saturday's qualifying session has once again polarized the sport.

However, this time the divide isn't limited to discussion boards and forums, where we are used to seeing fans venting their spleens, this time the talk is in the national newspapers, and in the paddock, where insiders, even at the highest level, are making no secret of their anger.

On Monday, other than the news overload regarding Michael Schumacher's retirement and the result of the Italian Grand Prix, Formula One was in the headlines for other reasons, people were using the dreaded word; "fix".

It wasn't just the newspapers that used the 'F-word', across the world news broadcasters got in on the act, sensing a major story. Consequently, certain parties wasted no time in making it clear that comments attributed to them had been meant as a joke.

Most worrying however, is not the fact that people are talking of a 'fix', but the fact that the sport could even be perceived as being rigged.

Such scandals have rocked various sports in recent years, including football and boxing, but are we seriously contemplating the possibility that the 2006 World Championship is being manipulated?

At a time when Formula One is seeking to bring new fans into the sport, the merest hint of the outcome of the World Championship being rigged could be catastrophic. For not only would newcomers be put off, many hardened F1 fans could turn their back on the 'pinnacle of motorsport', for there are alternatives.

Last year, at a time when the old qualifying format was proving a turn-off, Renault's Pat Symonds argued that the powers that be should be out in the malls and town centres asking why people were out shopping on a Saturday afternoon rather than watching qualifying, traditionally one of the most exciting parts of a Grand Prix weekend. I argued that what F1 really needed to worry about was the fact that it was the die-hard fans who were choosing shopping over qualifying, and that they were the ones the sport should be focussing on.

A year later, and it might be time to get out on the streets again, this time ensuring that people understand that though the sport does have its problems, everything is squeaky clean, with not a hint of corruption. But first off all, Formula One has got to convince the diehards, and that includes those within the paddock.

Ignoring the Alonso saga, the big problem is that Formula One, unlike almost all other sports, certainly sports of such magnitude, is wholly owned. It used to be owned by Bernie and the banks, now it is owned by CVC Capital Partners, an investment company with a proven track record.

For all the stick that Bernie gets, some of it deserving, much of it not, he is, deep down, a race fan, and has been involved in the sport for many, many years. Yes, he has made a couple of billion along the way, but in doing so has turned Formula One into one of the world's great sporting spectacles.