US Congress demands answers from Liberty over Andretti block

12 members of the United States Congress have written to Formula 1 owner Liberty Media demanding to know why Andretti's entry bid was blocked.

In January, F1, as commercial rights holder rejected Andretti's proposed grand prix entry bid after negotiations after the FIA had deemed the General Motors-partnered bid to meet all technical requirements.

F1 and the 10 teams were concerned about the dilution of the prize pot, with F1 believing that Andretti would not be a "competitive participant" in the championship, and doubted what Andretti could bring to F1.

However, the door was left open for a potential 2028 entry if General Motors could produce a power unit.

Mario Andretti has been on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C for meetings with Republican Congressman John James of Michigan - who is one of 12 signatories - from both parties - to demand answers from Liberty - which it is seeking by May 3rd.

RacingNews365 has reached out to the White House with a request for comment from President Biden.

In the letter addressed to Liberty chief Greg Maffei, the members of Congress "write to express our concerns with apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two American companies, Andretti Global and General Motors from producing and competing in Formula 1."

The letter continues that FOM's denial of Andretti's application, for now, could be down to the domination of "European Formula 1 race teams" and that it is "unfair and wrong to attempt to block American companies from joining Formula 1 - which could also violate American anti-trust laws."

The bipartisan members of Congress are seeking answers to three major concerns by Friday from Liberty.

They include "under what authority does FOM proceed to reject admission of Andretti Global" and "what the rationale is for the rejection".

In addition, they are seeking answers as to whether the possible entry of GM into the European market could have been a reason for the denial of the bid, whilst the 1890 Sherman Anti-trust law is mentioned, which bans "unreasonable restraints" on market competition to produce the best outcome for the American consumer."

The 12 members of Congress have asked Liberty how its denial of Andretti's bid "squares with the Sherman Act requirements."