In the aftermath of a superb drive at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen went on to give something of another masterclass, in putting across an opinion while ostensibly declining to say anything at all.

It was an arch display of discontent and dissatisfaction, delivered with a disarming smile, and aimed at the FIA; the latest expression of a cumulative wave of disquiet with the governing body.

Verstappen and his Red Bull team were aggrieved at the penalty he had received in Jeddah which they felt cost him a shot at the win. Fair enough. It’s an unusual race if there isn’t at least one team indignant at a decision that has not gone their way.

However, the Dutchman soon appeared in a more vituperative frame of mind. Firstly, he declined to answer a question on the penalty incident when interviewed after climbing from his car. Then in the official FIA press conference he made the reason for his reticence explicit.

“The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it’s better not to speak about it,” he said.

When asked to explain he was clear. “I know I cannot swear in here but at the same time, you also can’t be critical in any form that might ‘harm’ or ‘danger’. Let me get the sheet out, there’s a lot of lines, you know? So that’s why it’s better not to talk about it. You can put yourself in trouble, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

What might have seemed an obtuse reference was patently clear to everyone within F1. Verstappen was almost certainly referring to the changes to FIA regulations for 2025 that introduced a series of draconian penalties for swearing or criticising the governing body.

The swearing part is self-explanatory – pull a Sex Pistols on the Bill Grundy show and you’re busted – but it is worth quoting the other addition to the sporting code that forbids: “Any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA.”

This was what Verstappen was referring to on “the sheet” when he said “harm” or “danger”. The penalties for either offence – and it should be noted the second could make any critical comment potentially in breach – are a series of fines starting at €40,000 and rising to €120,000 for a third offence that would be accompanied by one month suspension from the championship. The latter would be catastrophic for any driver in a title fight.

It is understood the changes were instigated by the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and considered by many as an attempt to suppress criticism.

Verstappen has been generally much more short and guarded in press conferences this season, which he attributed in Jeddah to being misinterpreted on social media. “I prefer not to talk a lot because sometimes your words can be twisted or people interpret it in a different way. It’s honestly better not to say too much,” he said.

Such a position is not unusual these days but equally what could not be misinterpreted was that with the few words he was willing to use, his ire was specifically aimed at the FIA regulations. He is far from alone in that stance.

Verstappen was already at odds with the FIA after being penalised for swearing in a press conference at the Singapore GP last year. Before that weekend Ben Sulayem had made his position clear, stating he did not want drivers to swear, comparing it unfavourably to rap artists. Lewis Hamilton dismissed this comment as being influenced by a racial bias and stereotyping, while Lando Norris and Verstappen were among other drivers who also felt there was no need to pursue such a trivial matter.

Verstappen chose to poke the bear only a day later and after his penalty warned that such pettiness could prompt him to leave the sport.

There was widespread support and sympathy for him from the drivers and shortly afterwards the body representing them, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, issued a public statement to the FIA demanding they stop treating drivers like children They also addressed the swearing controversy and took issue with the “tone and ­language” used by Ben Sulayem in relation to his ­objections and ­questioned the financial ­transparency of the FIA, in how the organisation used the money from fines.

When the FIA did not respond George Russell, a GPDA director, stated drivers were “fed up” with the situation and warned it was going in the “wrong direction”.

Verstappen is a canny operator and knows where a few well-chosen words, or indeed declining to comment, will be most effective; he would also have been aware of the timing, with Ben Sulayem’s tenure under the spotlight.

George Russell said F1 drivers are ‘fed up’ with the situation concerning the new FIA regulations. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

Less than two weeks ago the FIA’s deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, announced his resignation, citing what he called “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards” and “critical decisions being made without due process”. He is the latest member of senior personnel to have depart since Ben Sulayem took over.

Reid’s resignation came just after the chair of Motorsport UK, David Richards, published an open letter expressing a growing number of people had legitimate concerns that: “The governance and constitutional organisation of the FIA is becoming ever more opaque and concentrating power in the hands of the president alone”.

Verstappen will now doubtless switch his focus to the next round in Miami in two weeks but he has made his point and it is one expected to be aired vigorously again in Florida.