DOJ to investigate Liberty Media over Andretti’s dismissal

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into Liberty Media over Formula 1’s refusal to allow Andretti Global to enter the sport.

Ahead of the conference call with investors, Liberty revealed that it had “received notification from the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, that an investigation has been initiated into Formula One’s conduct regarding Andretti Formula Racing’s application to enter the FIA ​​Formula One World Championship.”

In a later conference call, Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei shed more light on the investigation.

“We intend to cooperate fully with this investigation, including any related information requests,” he said. “We believe that our determination, or F1’s determination, complied with all applicable U.S. antitrust laws.

“We have explained this decision in detail regarding Andretti in previous statements,” he added. “We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is bad.

“However, there is a methodology for expansion that requires approval from the FIA ​​and F1, and both groups have to meet the criteria. We are certainly open to new entrants applying and potentially getting approval if those requirements are met.”

In May, several senators, including Amy Klobuchar, raised concerns that the sport was potentially violating U.S. antitrust law by helping mostly European rival teams, “including foreign automakers,” block Andretti, which had previously announced partnerships with GM and Cadillac.

While the FIA ​​accepted Andretti’s bid, deeming it met the required “rigorous criteria”, F1 – with the full support of most existing teams – rejected the American team, claiming it would not be competitive and would not add any value to the series.

“We have serious concerns that the rejection of the Andretti-Cadillac team was driven by a desire to exclude a rival from the racetrack, marketing opportunities and prestige that competing in Formula One can bring to an automaker struggling to sell cars around the world,” the senators said in May.

Despite the rejection, Andretti continued with his programme, establishing a European base at Silverstone and employing a large staff, including former Formula One technical chief Pat Symonds.