Janice R. Andrews
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that Liberty Media, the parent company of Formula One Group, is the subject of an inquiry. This comes after a dispute over the refusal of Andretti Global’s admittance into the Formula 1 World Championship. The main focus of the inquiry is the claim that Liberty Media violated antitrust laws when it turned down Andretti’s request to participate in the esteemed racing series.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said, “We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation, including any related request for information,” during a conference call on Thursday. The investigation comes after the contentious decision made in January to reject Andretti Global’s application, which called for partnering with General Motors to run a two-car American team under the Cadillac brand in addition to the current 10-team grid.
There has been friction as a result of Andretti’s application being rejected, especially between Mario and Michael Andretti and General Motors. The Andretti name’s potential for competitiveness and the value it would bring to the series were worries voiced by the F1 officials. They also expressed skepticism over Andretti’s capacity to handle the demands of joining the grid in the upcoming two years.
The 1978 Formula One world champion Mario Andretti openly voiced his displeasure, describing the wording used by Formula One Management for rejection as extremely disrespectful. In April, he expressed his “devastation” at the decision on social media.
Six U.S. senators pushed the DOJ to look into the denial in May, citing possible antitrust violations if Formula 1 had been working in the best interests of individual teams and other “key stakeholders,” such as foreign manufacturers.
Regarding the probe, the Justice Department has not yet made any remarks. Liberty Media, which implies that the debate over Andretti Global’s bid is far from finished, has reaffirmed its willingness to new participants into the series, providing they satisfy particular requirements.
