A few months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced intent to get involved with the continued rejection of the Andretti Cadillac F1 team application presented to Formula One Group owner, Liberty Media. The investigation is currently underway, and Liberty Media itself recently confirmed that it’s being examined for the legality of its continued rejections.
According to Motorsport, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei confirmed the active investigation in the company’s quarterly earnings call. The DoJ Antitrust Division is currently examining the legality of Formula 1 barring Andretti Cadillac from entry into the World Championship.
“Looking at Andretti, as you saw this morning, we announced that there is a DoJ investigation,” Maffei said. “We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation, including any related requests for information. 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-à-vis Andretti in prior statements.”
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) accepted Andretti Cadillac’s application, but that’s not enough to get a Caddy race car on the grid. F1 itself is currently responsible for preventing the team from advancing into the sport. Simply put, the sanctioning body doesn’t buy that Andretti can bring a competitive car to the grid, and will therefore not bring any significant commercial value to the series.
Additionally, the prospect of expanding the grid to include 11 teams total has existing teams sweating a bit. That’s because they would have to divvy up the revenue pool into smaller shares, meaning they would each take in less money on an individual basis, something that Michael Andretti said is just plain greedy.
“We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong,” Maffei said. “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.”
Despite being stonewalled by FOM and Liberty Media, Andretti Global is already preparing a Cadillac F1 race car with full intent to compete within the next few seasons. In fact, the organization recently opened the doors of a brand new factory in Silverstone that will serve as a satellite facility to its planned headquarters in Indiana.
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