In January, Formula One Management (FOM), the group that controls commercial rights in grand prix racing, said no to the American team’s request to join F1 next season. Even though the FIA (the sport’s regulator) said they were technically good enough last October.
FOM explained, “We don’t think adding an 11th team would make F1 better. A new team needs to be competitive to add value, and we don’t see that happening with this team. Plus, it might cost too much for the current race organizers.”
Mario Andretti, the head of Andretti Global team and a former F1 champ, went to Capitol Hill recently to talk about this with Republican John James. He’s one of the 12 people from different political parties who signed a letter about it. They worry FOM’s decision might go against fair competition rules.
Congress members represent people from their areas and make laws. They wrote to Greg Maffei, the boss of Liberty, the company that owns F1, saying they’re worried about unfair treatment towards American companies like Andretti Global and General Motors (GM) in F1.
They said FOM’s move seems to favor European teams, some of which are linked to car makers that compete with GM. They think it’s not fair to block American companies from joining F1, which might even break American laws against unfair business practices.
After this happened, Andretti Global said on Twitter they’re still determined to join F1, aiming for 2026.
Now, the Congress members want Liberty to answer some questions by May 3:
1. Why did FOM say no to Andretti Global, especially when it could be the first American team in F1?
2. Does FOM’s decision follow the rules of the Sherman Antitrust Act, a law against unfair competition?
3. Did FOM’s decision have anything to do with GM’s plan to sell cars in Europe again, and how much does F1’s popularity play into this?
They ended their letter by saying they’ll keep an eye on this issue and make sure any unfair practices are looked into properly.
