FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem's leadership was back in the spotlight on Wednesday as a dispute emerged with senior figures from the governing body.
A report by the BBC, which has been verified by sources, revealed that a number of World Motor Sport Council members were denied access to its latest meeting after refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
It is suggested that the proposed NDA barred WMSC members from discussing any matters relating to FIA business outside of official meetings.
Those that had not signed it were not allowed entry to Wednesday's meeting.
The BBC story suggested that those barred from the latest meeting included the FIA's UK representative David Richards and deputy president for sport Robert Reid.
Explaining the NDA move, an FIA spokesperson told the BBC: "As is routine in all organisations, including the BBC, the FIA implements procedures including non-disclosure agreements to ensure confidential relationships between all parties, to safeguard personal information, and to protect our regulatory interests.
"Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information undermines our ability to fully fulfil our mission and adversely impacts our capabilities to generate revenues to support our member clubs in our shared objective of growing motorsport participation, increasing accessibility, and cultivating innovation.
"The steps we have taken to preserve confidentiality have been overwhelmingly supported by a super majority of WMSC members."
The move to increase the robustness of NDAs is understood to have been prompted by concerns that Ben Sulayem has had for a while about information leaking from the FIA.
Speaking at last year's Qatar Grand Prix, Ben Sulayem talked openly about taking action to help protect the governing body on this front.
"I've never seen any leakage like the FIA," he said. "It's worse than a roof. And I don't know where we're leaking; it's just leaks after leaks. And I will do more if it needs to bring the FIA [forward]. I will do more."
There are suggestions that the issues surrounding the NDA are subject to legal letters and there could be interpretations that suggest decisions made before the matter has been settled could in theory be challenged.
However, the FIA insists that interpretation is incorrect and that the WMSC meeting that took place on Wednesday was valid and run in full accordance with the FIA statutes.
While the headline decision from the WMSC meeting was ratification of new Formula 1 rules to make the Monaco GP a mandatory two-stop race, there was also a note in the post-meeting summary regarding potential changes being made to the FIA structure in the future.
A statement said: "WMSC members discussed the need for the simplification of the commission and committee structures, agreeing that the current system is unclear and unapproachable.
"Simplification and providing a clear, solution-focused structure will provide clarity while benefiting decision-making members and clubs.
"It was agreed that a working group to discuss the process of simplification will be set up, with the new structure to be proposed at the next WMSC meeting in June."
The controversy over members being denied access to the WMSC comes ahead of Ben Sulayem likely launching a re-election campaign, with his current term of presidency ending later this year.
While he has not formally announced he is standing again, it is almost certain he will seek a mandate for a second term. What is not clear is whether there will be anyone willing to stand against him.
