In the excitement of the opening lap melee between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in Jeddah, an important topic raised its head. Again.

You may remember in January that the FIA quietly introduced a change to the International Sporting Code. It was the inclusion of Appendix B, a matrix of suggested punishments for a handful of offences under the Code. The ISC governs all motorsport. While we all think of the FIA as F1's policeman, it covers world motorsport, meaning the new Appendix even had Supercars up in arms. 

What's especially silly is that, in reality, nothing has changed as far as the rules or punishments are concerned, but it was a confrontational play by the world governing body as it sought to police something that probably didn't need to be policed. It's perfectly reasonable to term Appendix B a gag order.

Of course, the FIA will argue it's no such thing and it's simply a way of adding consistency to penalties. Last year, Max Verstappen copped community service for saying "fuck" in a press conference in Singapore, while just two races later Charles Leclerc was fined for saying "shit". In Singapore, Verstappen responded by refusing to offer more than the bare minimum during official FIA media sessions. He even held an impromptu session in the hallway outside the room, and we all followed him like the pied piper down the stairs and through the paddock as the FIA media delegate ushered him to the awaiting television interviews.

But back to Jeddah, and after skipping over the run-off area at Turn 2 to maintain the lead, Max described the resultant time penalty as "fucking lovely." It was a comment that made the world feed, though Formula 1 Management did manage to beep out the vulgarity (it hasn't always). Curiously, Carlos Sainz opined that "shit happens" with regards to his penalty for being late the national anthem in Japan. In that case, swearing wasn't even looked at by officials, but being a few seconds late, a delay because he was getting medical attention so he was in a fit state to start the race, warranted a significant fine.

Channelling my inner Max: what the fuck? On what planet does that make sense? If Appendix B is meant to govern foul language but doesn't, what exactly does it do?

What it has done is mute the sport's brightest star. Asked about the most controversial moment of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max kept shtum, arguing that offering an opinion would land him in trouble. So the real world outcome of the FIA's clampdown on 'misconduct' is that the thing it was seeking to stamp out, swearing, it hasn't, but it has robbed us of insight and opinion from the heroes of our sport (remember, this isn't just Verstappen and F1).

Over the last three months, I've spoken to a number of people in and around the sport, including within the FIA on this exact topic, and there are mixed views around the whole situation. The FIA is the sport's regulator; it's not interested in the commercial side of the sport (and, legally, it can't be, but that's whole different story). The problem is that it places it in direct conflict with the commercial rights holder(s) and the needs and wants of a hungry global audience, keen to hear what one of the sport's most revered figures has to say about an event's most controversial moment.

And here's the kicker, one could even argue that Appendix B and the current aggressive stance towards criticism in fact leaves the FIA in breach of its own Code. Article 1.2 of the ISC outlines what the document is all about, and clearly states that its purpose is to "regulate, encourage, and facilitate" motorsport. It goes on to add that the Code "will never be enforced so as to prevent or impede a Competition or the participation of a Competitor, save where the FIA concludes that this is necessary for the safe, fair or orderly conduct of motor sport." Hasn't all of this created disorder? It sure as hell hasn't made the sport any safer, or encouraged interest or participation in motorsport, quite the reverse.

So, based on those fundamental principles, shouldn't the FIA be making itself and, by proxy, all of motorsport open and accessible, by removing barriers and leaving the drawing of any social responsibility lines up to the individual?

That's a deeply philosophical question, on which there isn't even consensus in the Speedcafe newsroom. And that's the point here: this isn't a one-size-fits-all issue, and yet we've got blanket rules leaving the sport's biggest stars feeling gagged. I, for one, would love to hear Max's real opinion on the clash with Oscar. Christian Horner waving a photo about after the fact is great theatre, but it's not the same thing.

Provided things don't become personal, what's the issue with a frank and honest discussion and opinion? The FIA openly says it has a role to referee the sport and, as a result, it well knows that it is going to cop some flak at times. So why not embrace that and instead employ a sensible strategy of engaging with the drivers and acting only on egregious breaches rather than creating an environment where everyone in motorsport suffers?