FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is proposing changes to the statutes of motorsport's governing body that appear to further extend his control.
BBC Sport has seen a confidential document containing the proposed revisions, which are set to be voted on at a meeting of the FIA General Assembly next month.
These bring forward the deadline for candidates for December's presidential election, give Ben Sulayem the possibility to bar any candidate from running against him and allow him more control over the membership of the FIA Senate.
No critic was prepared to comment on the record about the changes, as many are bound by non-disclosure agreements.
But one said: "Most proposals aim at some sort of consolidation of power, more centralised control and trying to eliminate independent checks and balances."
Another said the document containing the proposals was "very cleverly written".
"It's taking a very moral high ground," they said. "Or it's appearing to. Whereas the reality of it is probably less so."
Ben Sulayem was criticised last December for statute changes that were labelled a "worrisome concentration of power" by one of its member clubs.
