WASHINGTON — The chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee is launching an investigation into Formula 1 and its U.S. owner, Liberty Media, to demand answers about the sport's decision to deny Andretti Global a spot on the grid.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accuses the sport’s chiefs of engaging in “anticompetitive conduct” by rejecting the American racing team’s bid to enter F1 in 2025 or 2026.
The letter is dated Tuesday and addressed to Greg Maffei, the president and CEO of Liberty Media, and Stefano Domenicali, the president and CEO of Formula One Group.
“Delaying Andretti Cadillac’s entry into Formula One for even one year will harm American consumers to benefit failing Formula One teams,” Jordan writes. “Limiting the number of teams in Formula One will increase the price of sponsoring or buying into an existing Formula One team. As the Committee examines this matter and considers potential legislation around the structure and competition of sports leagues, we write to request a staff-level briefing on the decision to deny Andretti Cadillac’s application to join Formula One.”
Jordan demands documents and communications about the “process for evaluating the entry of new teams” into the sport, referring or relating to Andretti Global, as well as between or among Formula 1 Group, Liberty Media and the 10 existing teams about the entry of a new team. He gives them a May 21 deadline to respond.
The letter marks an escalating interest in Congress in the actions of F1, the popularity of which has grown substantially in the U.S. in recent years. Andretti's decision to partner with Michigan-based GM to produce its engines adds to the domestic and economic stakes of a storied American team’s competing in the sport.
Mario Andretti, a former Formula 1 world champion, visited Capitol Hill last Wednesday and spoke at a news conference with lawmakers to pressure the sport to admit Andretti Global.
“Chairman Jim Jordan met with Mario Andretti last week,” said a source familiar with the meeting. “Chairman Jim Jordan is a big Formula 1 fan and watches Drive to Survive, like many Americans.”
Formula 1 and Liberty Media had no immediate comment. F1 denied Andretti’s bid in January, saying in a long statement that it did “not believe that the Applicant would be a competitive participant.”
Andretti Global said in a statement to NBC News: “We’re glad that the House Judiciary Committee has decided to investigate the practices of Liberty Media and FOM, as called for last week by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Our focus remains on building a world-class Formula 1 team, and our work continues at pace.”
Jordan claimed the actions of F1 fall under the purview of the Judiciary Committee because sports leagues like it “operate in a notable area of antitrust law in which some degree of collusion is necessary for the creation of the product.”
“However, when a sports league deviates from its rules and practices in a manner that reduces competition and depresses consumer interest in the product, the collusion may amount to anticompetitive conduct,” Jordan writes.
Jordan's full letter can be read below:
At the Miami Grand Prix last weekend, NBC News asked F1 team bosses to respond to the new interest from Congress in the sport’s rejection of Andretti for the foreseeable future. Several of them distanced themselves from the decision.
“I think Formula 1 and the FIA have both taken their positions, and they don’t seem to be changing. So I think we’ll just have to wait and see. And as I think all the teams have said, we don’t have a vote in that matter,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said.
Williams team principal James Vowles said: “I’m not overly familiar with the U.S. judicial system. What I can state is there was a due course and process completed by the FIA and FOM. And as Zak says, we don’t have a say in any of that.”
