The American Congress launches an investigation into the refusal of Andretti’s arrival in F1
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives has opened an investigation into the reasons for Liberty Media's refusal to accept Andretti's entry into Formula 1.

Only a few days after the visit of Mario Andretti to the Capitol, Republican Jim Jordan wrote to the owners of Formula 1 requesting explanations about the decision-making process that blocked Andretti’s hopes of joining Formula 1.
NBC published a letter from Jim Jordan where he asks for information regarding the decision of F1. In the letter, addressed to Liberty Media’s CEO, Greg Maffei, and F1 President, Stefano Domenicali, he states that he wants answers to ensure that no illegal anticompetitive behavior has taken place.
« The Judiciary Commission is responsible for reviewing the adequacy of federal competition laws to protect it from monopolies and other unfair trade restrictions. Sports leagues, such as Formula 1, operate in a significant area of antitrust law in which a certain degree of collusion is necessary for the creation of the product. »
« However, when a sports league deviates from these rules and practices in a way that reduces competition and diminishes consumer interest in the product, collusion can constitute anticompetitive behavior », he wrote.
Arguments that don’t hold water
Jim Jordan emphasized that he did not accept some of the explanations provided by F1 to reject Andretti’s candidacy when it announced in January that it had decided not to allow him on the starting grid.
« The excuses put forward to refuse entry to Andretti Cadillac appear pretextual, arbitrary, and unrelated to Andretti Cadillac’s ability to compete in Formula 1. For example, F1 claimed that a new team could only add value to Formula 1 by competing for podiums and race victories. »
« However, the FIA had already analyzed and approved the technical capabilities of Andretti-Cadillac to compete among the current teams. Most of these do not meet the standard of regularly competing for podiums and race wins.
« The F1 also reproached Andretti Cadillac for trying to use an existing engine manufacturer as it could harm the prestige and reputation of Formula 1. However, F1 stated that if Andretti Cadillac used a new engine made by General Motors in the team’s first year, a new engine would pose a challenge for the new team.
« The F1 cannot have both. As the FIA President, Muhamed Ben Sulayem, explained, the rejection of Andretti Cadillac is ‘a matter of money’. »
The Congress wants answers
The Committee also considered that the arguments put forward claiming that the addition of an 11th team would harm the interests of the current teams might imply anti-competitive behavior. The letter adds: « Weak teams want to be protected from competition to the detriment of consumers and an additional team would compete for bonuses and sponsorships. »
« If Formula 1 has to hinder competition and harm consumers to protect failing competitors, then the entire Formula 1 model can be broken and the entity cannot hide behind the necessity of a sports league to pursue anti-competitive behavior.
Delaying the entry of Andretti Cadillac into Formula 1 by even one year would harm American consumers to the benefit of failing Formula 1 teams.
In order to assist the Committee’s investigation on the matter, it was requested to obtain all documents and communications referring to the evaluation process of the new team entries and Andretti, as well as everything related to the F1 decision to reject their entry.
Furthermore, he requested all documents and communications between F1 and the current ten teams regarding the new team entries, as well as any communication related to the new team entry or dilution fees in the Concorde Agreement. He requested a meeting as soon as possible, no later than May 21st.
During a press conference in front of the American Capitol last week, Mario Andretti had declared: “We did everything that was asked of us. I proudly represented the United States in my F1 career. My proudest moments were standing on the top step of the podium with the American national anthem playing.”