The United States Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation against Liberty Media over the rejection of Andretti F1 bid.
Formula 1 owner Liberty Media is now under investigation by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for its handling of Andretti Global’s application to join the F1 grid as the 11th team.
The probe comes after Andretti’s bid was rejected by F1 in January 2024, despite initial approval from the FIA on sporting and technical grounds.
Andretti’s bid to join F1 was initially approved by the FIA in October 2023 after the governing body conducted an Expressions of Interest process. The matter was later tabled before Liberty Media to assess the financial legitimacy of Andretti’s application.
However, following a four-month review, F1 announced in late January 2024 that Andretti’s application did not meet the series’ stringent criteria claiming it didn’t feel the American powerhouse could become competitive in the medium term, and therefore wouldn’t provide enough commercial value to the series.
Michael Andretti, the team’s founder, expressed his disappointment at the decision but has continued to build a team that now numbers over 200 employees.
However, the issue took an unprecedented turn days before the Miami Grand Prix after Michael’s father, Mario Andretti, visited Capitol Hill where US congressional leaders declared they were considering an antitrust investigation into Liberty Media for rejecting the Andretti F1 bid.
The reason behind the probe primarily revolved around General Motors’ involvement in the F1 bid, as the manufacturing giant had planned to provide Andretti with power units under its Cadillac brand. According to the lawmakers, Andretti’s rejection from the racing series is a practical dismissal of an American brand’s capacity to compete on a global stage as well.
Soon after the Miami event, Mario Andretti claimed that Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei approached him to say he will do everything in his power to see that his team never enters Formula 1.
Now, Maffei has confirmed that the Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation.
“Looking at Andretti, as you saw this morning, we announced that there is a DoJ investigation,” he told Wall Street business analysts on Thursday.
Maffei added Liberty Media would co-operate with the Department of Justice and was confident F1 hasn’t breached any US regulations.
“We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation, including any related requests for information,” he said. “We believe our determination, F1’s determination, was in compliance with all applicable US antitrust laws, and we’ve detailed the rationale for our decision, vis-a-vis Andretti in prior statements.”
The group CEO also made clear that F1 and Liberty Media aren’t ruling out accepting an expansion team if it meets the standards required to join the sport.
“We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong,” he added. “There is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of the FIA and the F1 and both groups have to find the criteria met.
“We’re certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met.”
