House Judiciary Committee demanding answers from F1 on Andretti Cadillac bid

Chairman Jim Jordan of the House Judiciary Committee is demanding documents, and answers, regarding the Andretti Cadillac F1 bid

Ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, members of the United States Congress met with Mario Andretti on Capitol Hill and submitted a letter to Liberty Media. Their correspondence related to the decision by Formula One Management (FOM) to deny the proposed membership of Andretti-Cadillac to the F1 grid.

Now the House Judiciary Committee is entering the fray.

In a letter directed to Greg Maffei (the President and CEO of Liberty Media) and Stefano Domenicali (the President and CEO of F1), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is demanding not just documents, but answers.

“ ... 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. Accordingly, we write to request information about Formula One’s decision to block the partnership of Andretti Global and General Motors (Andretti Cadillac),” begins Jordan in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.

Regarding FOM’s decision to reject the Andretti Cadillac bid, Jordan writes “ ... the excuses put forward for denying Andretti Cadillac’s entry appear to be pretextual, arbitrary, and unrelated to Andretti Cadillac’s suitability in Formula One. For example, Formula One alleged that a new team could only add value to Formula One by ‘competing for podiums and race wins.’ However, the FIA had already analyzed — and approved of — the technical capabilities of Andretti Cadillac to compete among current teams, and most current teams in Formula One do not meet Formula One’s standard of regularly competing for ‘podiums and race wins.’”

Jordan surmises that it all comes down to money, finding support in that proposition from none other than FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

“The truth, as FIA President [Mohammed] Ben Sulayem explained, is that the rejection of Andretti Cadillac is ‘all about money.’ The Concorde Agreement is set to expire at the end of 2025, and reports indicate that a new agreement will include a much higher entry price tag or total ban on new entry.”

Jordan also relies on comments from Williams Team Principal James Vowles. Speaking about the proposed Andretti Cadillac bid last season, Vowles indicated he was strongly against the addition, and it came down to money. “Williams is against the addition of an 11th team, and very strongly against,” said Vowles last October. “It should be known it is not just us that are not financially stable. I’d say probably half the grid aren’t.”

In Jordan’s view, “weak” teams want to be protected from competition. “Weak teams want to be protected from competition to the detriment of consumers and an additional team would compete for prize money and sponsorships.”

Jordan then goes as far to state that the F1 model “may be broken.”

“If Formula One must hinder competition and harm consumers to protect failing competitors, then the entire Formula One model may be broken and the entity cannot hide behind the necessity of a sports league to pursue anticompetitive conduct. Delaying Andretti Cadillac’s entry into Formula One for even one year will harm American consumers to benefit failing Formula One teams. Limiting the number of teams in Formula One will increase the price of sponsoring or buying into an existing Formula One team.”

In his conclusion, Jordan requests a “staff-level briefing” on the decision to deny the Andretti Cadillac bid, and requests documents and communications relating to the Andretti Bid, as well as documents and communications “between or among Formula One Group or Liberty Media and the ten current Formula One teams referring or relating to the entry of a new team or teams into Formula One.”

Jordan is requesting that the briefing take place no later than May 21, which is two days after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and days before the crown jewel of the F1 calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix.