The House Judiciary Committee is considering an investigation into Andretti’s rejection in Formula 1

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The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is considering rejecting Andretti Global’s offer to join Formula 1 in 2025 or 2026.

In a letter to Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, obtained by NBC, the chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), requests a number of documents and communications as well as “an employee – “Briefing at the same level” on the decision of Formula 1 management to reject Andretti’s offer.

“Delaying Andretti Cadillac’s entry into Formula One for even one year will harm American consumers and benefit failing Formula One teams,” Jordan wrote. “Limiting the number of teams in Formula 1 increases the cost of sponsoring or purchasing an existing Formula 1 team. “As the committee reviews this matter and considers possible legislation on the structure and competition of sports leagues, we are writing to request an employee-level briefing on the decision to reject Andretti Cadillac’s application to join Formula 1.”

Liberty Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours. F1 declined to comment.

“Delaying Andretti Cadillac’s entry into Formula One for even one year will hurt American consumers and benefit the failing Formula One team,” Rep. Jim Jordan wrote in a letter to Liberty Media and F1. (Almond NGAN / AFP)

This is an escalated exit from the House of Representatives. This came after 12 members – not including Jordan – signed a letter to Maffei last week in which they “expressed concerns about apparent anti-competitive measures that could prevent two American companies, Andretti Global and General Motors (GM), from operating in… None of these members are on the House Judiciary Committee, which, as Jordan wrote, “is responsible for examining the adequacy of federal competition laws to protect against monopolies and other unfair restraints on trade.”

The FIA ​​approved Andretti’s application last fall based on his technical and sporting merits. Formula One Management (FOM), the commercial rights holder, has the final say and rejected the offer in January – but did not completely rule out the possibility of the team becoming involved in the future. Formula 1 said it would “look differently on an application to add a team to the championship in 2028,” when GM is expected to build its first engine.

In his letter, Jordan also wrote about the idea of ​​value. “Formula One claimed that a new team could only add value to Formula One by ‘fighting for podiums and race wins,'” he wrote. “However, the FIA ​​had already analyzed and approved Andretti (Cadilac) (sic) technical capabilities to compete with the current teams and most current teams in Formula 1 do not meet the Formula 1 standard, regularly around “Podium places to fight for. ‘Race wins.'”

Mario Andretti visited Capitol Hill last week when 12 members of Congress signed a letter expressing “concerns about blatantly anti-competitive measures.” (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

All 10 Formula One teams have expressed concerns about expanding the field, fearing it could lead to financial instability, and the addition of Andretti would mean a revenue split between 11 instead of 10. The letter shows that Jordan agrees with a statement made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Last fall there was a roundtable about the concerns within Formula 1. The representative quoted Ben Sulayem’s quote from that roundtable and wrote: “The truth is , as FIA President Muhamed Ben Sulayem explained that Andretti Cadillac’s rejection is ‘all about money’.”

But is the network financially stable? Williams team boss James Vowles said in Qatar last year: “It should be known that we are not the only ones who are not financially stable. I’d say probably half of the entrants don’t.” Jordan also highlighted part of that comment in his letter, later adding: “If Formula 1 has to hinder competition and harm consumers, it has to deal with weakening competitors “The whole Formula 1 model could be broken and the company cannot hide behind the need for a sports league to pursue anti-competitive behavior.”

Jordan requested a number of documents and communications, including information regarding the evaluation of new entries and Andretti, as well as “all documents and communications between or between Formula One Group or Liberty Media and the ten current Formula One teams relating to the inclusion of a “Team or teams in Formula 1.” Finally, he would like the communications and documents relating to the Concorde Agreement (the sport’s governing document), which expires in 2025 – in particular “all documents and communications, which relate to or are related to the entry fee or the dilution fee in the current Concorde agreement and are possible.” Changes to the entry fee or the dilution fee in a future Concorde agreement.”

Jordan requested that the briefing be scheduled “as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 21, 2024.”

Required reading:

(Main photo by Michael Andretti: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)