Max Mosley opted to keep his counsel on his return to the Formula One paddock for the first time since becoming engulfed in scandal.
Instead, it was left to others to speak on his behalf, especially Toro Rosso's Gerhard Berger who on Thursday became the first team principal to publicly offer his support for the FIA president.
Mosley faces a vote of confidence at an extraordinary meeting of the FIA general assembly in Paris on June 3 at which it will be decided whether he is fit to remain in office.
Lurid details of his private life were exposed by the News of the World at the end of March.
The 68-year-old is suing the Sunday tabloid for breach of privacy and is looking to claim unlimited damages.
To date, with the hearing in just 11 days' time, senior figures in the paddock have refused to comment on the matter.
Yet in a stage-managed way, a distinct pro-Mosley panel was on hand for the team bosses FIA press conference, and it was Berger who made his views clear.
"It's an entirely private thing. It's something that has happened with grown-up people, nothing which is against the law," assessed the Austrian, a co-owner of Toro Rosso.
"I have to say I'm very surprised how many angels there are around here, especially in Formula One. Suddenly everyone seems to be very clean and very nice.
"But to connect this to the job of Max Mosley, as FIA president, I don't think is right.
"I've been in Formula One a long time now, I've seen many things, and I've been racing in the Max Mosley era, and in the position that I'm in now.
"I think there are very few people - maybe nobody - who has had such an impact on safety for motor sport as Max.
"If you think back, especially after what happened in '94 at Imola (Ayrton Senna's death), it needed a very strong guy to change a lot of things: race tracks, crash tests etc.
"And to see an accident, like (Robert) Kubica's last year in Canada for example, before then you would have had no chance to survive.
"I think he has had a lot of input, even in road car safety, and all these improvements in the crash tests save a lot of lives.
"I think it's not fair to see it through the glasses as some people have tried to see it at the moment.
"I think it should be totally decided by the automobile clubs and by himself, how the future of the FIA goes. It should not be run by newspapers or us.
"I just know one thing: the sport needs a strong, competitive guy who understands the business.
"We definitely have this with Max, and hopefully we will have in the future."
Although Mosley visited the paddock on Thursday, he refused to speak to any members of the media.
Instead, he conducted scheduled meetings with Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya and Williams chief executive Adam Parr, both of whom were also in the press conference.
Mosley also met with Michel Boeri, the president of the Automobile Club de Monaco and president of the FIA Senate.
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