US senators are calling on the Department of Justice and the FTC to investigate F1’s rejection of its proposal to join the Andretti Global network

Six US senators have called on the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Formula One management’s decision to reject Andretti’s offer to join the network in 2025 or 2026.

According to a copy of the letter received by Athletesuggested a bipartisan group of senators, “it is possible that such a refusal to deal – especially if organized through a group boycott – could violate U.S. antitrust laws.”

The 10 teams have nothing to say, but have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the potential consequences of expanding the network.

This letter was sent to Lina Khan, chairwoman of the FTC, and Jonathan Kanter, deputy attorney general in the antitrust division of the Justice Department. Among the influential senators who signed the letter is Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust. The letter came after the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into the same matter.

Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), who chairs the committee, wrote a letter on May 7 to Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, requesting various documents and communications, as well as a “staff-level briefing” on the decision FOM about rejecting Andretti’s offer.

An F1 spokesman declined to comment on the matter.

At the heart of this current situation is whether FOM has engaged in anti-competitive conduct. As noted in the senators’ letter, the FIA’s remit focuses on technical and sporting merits, and last fall the governing body approved Andretti’s bid. The decision therefore belonged to FOM, the owner of commercial rights.

They declined the offer for various reasons, but left the door open for the team to be involved in the future.

One of the question marks around this process is the concept of added value. F1 said its research showed that “F1 would add value to the Andretti brand, not the other way around” and that it “was unable to identify any material expected positive impact on CRH’s financial performance.”

The statement added: “Based on the current application, we do not believe that the Applicant has demonstrated that this will add value to the Championship. We come to the conclusion that the Applicant’s application to participate in the championship should not be accepted.”

The value-added aspect is something the senators discussed in their letter, detailing F1’s investment in growing its American fan base. They highlighted the increase in viewership and the increase to three races.

“Even individual teams like Red Bull are courting American fans by hosting events in American cities to “get closer to the engineering marvel of Formula 1 by bringing together F1 fans.” “There is undoubtedly a financial incentive to add an American team to the Fl lineup and there is no reason why the Andretti-Cadillac team should be blocked unless FOM tries to isolate its current partners from competition.”

Involvement of the FTC or the Department of Justice would drastically worsen the current situation because both entities can enforce antitrust law.

The senators concluded their letter by saying they “have grave concerns that the rejection of the Andretti-Cadillac team was driven by a desire to exclude a rival from the race track, marketing opportunities and the prestige that competing in F1 can provide an automaker competing to sell cars around the world.”

F1 key technical figure Symonds who will join Andretti

In a further sign of its continued push to join the grid, Andretti announced on Tuesday that Pat Symonds, F1’s outgoing technical director, would join the team.

Symonds has held the role in F1 since March 2017 and has been a key architect in shaping the current era of car design regulations, which began in 2022.

Initially planning to retire once the new regulations came into force, Symonds, 70, has decided to continue his F1 career following Ross Brawn’s departure at the end of 2022.

He has been placed on gardening leave by F1, but once his leave ends he will begin working with Andretti as an executive engineering consultant.

Michael Andretti, president and CEO of Andretti Global, said Symonds’ contribution will be “instrumental as we continue to build a competitive team” and that his “vote of confidence in joining our efforts speaks volumes.”

Symonds’ arrival will provide a further boost to the growing Andretti F1 project, which sees former Renault F1 technical chief Nick Chester head the design group working to create its first car, which is still waiting for the green light to join the field. — Luke Smith, senior F1 writer

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(Photo: Gary Mook / IndyStar / USA Today)