The United States’ Department of Justice are investigating Liberty Media to see whether there was an unfair rejection concerning their denial of Andretti Global’s entry into Formula 1.
The owners of the sport has said it will comply with the probe from the federal government’s antitrust division after they denied Mario Andretti’s team entry bid by alleging that they would not be competitive, despite the FIA providing the green light on the project.
“We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation,” Liberty Media’s CEO, Greg Maffei, said. “Including any related request for information.
“We believe our determination, or F1’s determination, was in compliance with all applicable US anti-trust laws and we’ve detailed the rationale for this decision vis-a-vis Andretti in prior statements. We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong.
“There is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of the FIA and the F1 and both groups have to meet find the criteria met. And we’re certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met.”
In May 2024, Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota declared their concern that F1 might be in breach of antitrust laws in order to protect European competitors from Andretti Global and their engine providers General Motors-Cadillac.
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Andretti, world champion in 1978, admitted to being “devastated” by the rejection, before later adding that he was deeply offended by Formula One Management‘s (FOM) reasons for barring his name from returning to the sport as a manufacturer.
“I was asked to go there [a meeting],” Mario Andretti claimed on May 23. “And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano and Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei, broke in the conversation.
“And he said: ‘Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1.’
“I could not believe that. That one really floored me. We’re talking about business. I didn’t know it was something so personal. That was really — oh, my goodness. I could not believe it. It was just like a bullet through my heart.”
Andretti push on despite Liberty Media rejection
Multiple teams, perhaps most vocally Williams, opposed the admission of Andretti Global on the grounds that it would put their fragile margin profits at risk by taking a share of the annual revenue via the Concorde Agreement.
That’s despite a prospective 11th time being required to pay an anti-dilution fee being written into the eighth version of the Agreement, signed as recently as 2021 and valid until the end of 2025, to prevent this happening.
Yet regardless of the decision and official reasoning for doing so, Andretti Global continues to push on to prove they will bring value to F1 as through 2024 they have opened a factory based near Silverstone, with around 80 staff members.
Described as the “next stage of our preparations to enter the FIA Formula 1 World Championship“, the 48,000-square-foot building will specialise in research and development and is located near Mercedes and Aston Martin’s factories.
Andretti Global have also offered 60 job vacancies and have reportedly been testing a 2023 F1 car spec in a wind tunnel in a bid to understand the aerodynamics and mechanical behaviours of the cars to hit the ground running.
“We are still working along with FOM,” Michael Andretti told Sky Sports F1. “And we will show that we are bringing a lot to the party.
“General Motors is huge coming to the party. They are not just coming to be here, they are coming here to be a big part of our team, and I think it’s not been understood yet how big that is.
“I think once everybody understands what we are really putting together it’ll be a point where they can’t say no.”
Andretti Global could join for the 2028 F1 season according to FOM once they prove an engine, but the team was pushing to join in 2026 under a Renault power unit, also this target is now uncertain with Alpine’s apparent desire to purchase a Mercedes PU.
