Recently appointed FIA acting secretary general Shaila-Ann Rao has said that she simply doesn't care about the criticism coming from Christian Horner and Mattia Binotto.

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto admitted that he was "concerned" when the FIA replaced Peter Bayer with Rao, who, before joining the FIA, had been special advisor to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

A renowned lawyer, Rao noted in a conversation with the , that so much has happened in Formula 1 recently that she could easily believe that half a year has passed since she took up her position at the motorsport governing body.

"A few weeks have passed since I started my assignment, but it seems to me that six months have already passed," she said.

The reason for the fears about her new position is that Mercedes is pushing for the rule allowing maximum flex in the floorboard of cars to be enforced both this year and some changes in 2023, as they seek to eradicate the "squeak."

The view, of course, from Red Bull and Ferrari is that the German side is trying to influence the FIA to help them get back to the front after a poor first half of the 2022 season.

This, in the words of the Italian publication, makes it the "most feared woman" in Formula 1, which amuses it, since F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was a Ferrari team boss, while FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem has ties to Red Bull in his rallying days - but hardly anyone mentions it.

"But before I worked for Mercedes, I was the director of legal affairs at the FIA," Rao explained.

"The F1 world is like that, you go from one team to other assignments, it is full of exes of something, even Stefano Domenicali is an ex of Ferrari."

"But I don't worry about certain voices, I go ahead and keep doing what I've always done: work."

Next year, changes have been proposed that would nullify or at least minimize the "aerodynamic and mechanical chop," but would also mean that teams would have to change some things in their designs due to a decrease in downforce.

Red Bull and Ferrari are among the six teams that are unhappy about having to make changes to their cars.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner described Mercedes' effort to change the rules as "scary," but Rao said that the new changes to the regulations proposed for 2023 are not yet set.

Moreover, she would not be doing her job if she did not consider the safety implications that the quiques have.

"At the moment it is just a proposal and that has not yet been finalized," she said.

"And anyway, we work for the safety of the drivers all the time, what would happen if we don't intervene when safety is at stake?"

The FIA also said that it seeks a compromise when looking at rule changes and that there is no way to say whether the new, safety-oriented regulations would work in favor of Mercedes or any other team.