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F1 accused of collusion in powerful letter of support for Andretti

Andretti is pushing ahead with its plans to join the Formula 1 grid in the near future despite being shown the closed door by the sport.

Michael Andretti Mario Andretti
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Seven United States Senators have written a letter to the Department of Justice calling for an investigation into Formula 1 after its refusal to grant Andretti a spot on the grid.

F1 announced earlier this year that it had rejected Andretti's proposal to join the field from 2026 after it passed the FIA's compliance checks.

However, it left the door open for a 2028 entry when Cadillac, who is a division of General Motors, has signed up as a power unit supplier for Andretti.

Despite the dismissal from the sport's commercial rights holder Formula One Management (FOM), Andretti has been pushing ahead with its plans to join the grid with the US Congress getting involved in the situation, calling out for clarity over the block.

In a brand new letter, which has been seen by RacingNews365, seven US Senators have signed in a further attempt at transparency.

The letter in question has been signed by US Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mike Lee, Gary Peters Todd Young, Debbie Stabenow Alex Padilla and Mike Braun.

It addresses Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice and Lisa Kahn, chair of the Federal Trade Commission. The letter outlines that refusing Andretti “could violate antitrust laws”, outlining FOM's verdict that the team would not be competitive is “in stark contrast with the technical approval granted prior to commercial negotiations”. 

The Senators took particular issue with FOM's reasoning that Andretti would not be competitive “in particular for podiums and race wins” and pointed out that “the vast majority of F1 teams fail to win races in a given season”.

After highlighting that more than half of F1 teams have failed to win in the last four F1 seasons, it declared: “This competitive balance has not been the hallmark of F1 racing and adding a team backed by a major U.S. car manufacturer is likely to enhance competitiveness, not reduce it.”

The letter also questioned F1's desire to increase its presence in the US while not having an American team on the grid. It pointed out the three US-based races on the calendar as well as “individual teams, such as Red Bull, are courting U.S. fans by hosting events in U.S. cities to get up close and personal with the marvel of Formula One engineering, bringing together F1 fans”, concluding there is “financial incentive to adding an American team to F1’s roster”.

It also disputed FOM's claims that “it did not consult with current teams before rejecting Team Andretti-Cadillac”, pointing out it had “consultations with 'key stakeholders', which likely include team sponsors, including car manufacturers that directly compete against General Motors and Cadillac”.

Signing off the letter to the Department of Justice, the US Senators agreed F1's denial of Andretti “merits investigation”. 

The letter in full

Dear Assistant Attorney General Kanter and Chair Khan,

We write because we are concerned that Formula One is acting at the behest of its independent teams and other “key stakeholders,” including foreign automakers, to exclude the team formed by Andretti Formula Racing, LLC’s partnership with General Motors (“Team Andretti-Cadillac”) from entering the Formula One Championship series. It is possible that such a refusal to deal—especially if orchestrated through a group boycott—could violate U.S. antitrust laws. 

The Formula One Championship series (“F1”) currently has 10 teams; however, none of the teams drive an American-made car with American-made components driven by an American. Eleven teams competed in F1 as recently as 2016 and 12 teams competed in 2012. In February of 2023, a comprehensive application process was opened by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (“FIA”), the governing body for F1 and other motorsports, to allow prospective teams to fill the vacant spots on the F1 grid. Among applicants, only Team Andretti-Cadillac was deemed to have met the stringent criteria set by FIA.

Upon approval, the commercial terms of Team Andretti-Cadillac’s participation in F1 were to be negotiated with Formula One Management (“FOM”). Instead of negotiating commercial terms, FOM unilaterally rejected Team Andretti-Cadillac’s application. FOM posited that Team Andretti-Cadillac would not benefit F1 financially and would not be competitive, “in particular for podiums and race wins.” This is in stark contrast with the technical approval granted prior to commercial negotiations. Moreover, the vast majority of F1 teams fail to win races in a given season. In 2023, a single team won all but one race, and half the teams in F1 have failed to win a race in the past 4 seasons combined. This competitive balance has not been the hallmark of F1 racing and adding a team backed by a major U.S. car manufacturer is likely to enhance competitiveness, not reduce it.

FOM also expressed concern about Team Andretti-Cadillac’s need to secure a “power unit” (the engine), despite stating that “GM ha[s] the resource[s] and credibility to be more than capable of attempting this challenge [of developing a power unit].” Notably, there are only four manufacturers that make power units and the addition of GM would bring increased competition to that highly specialized market.

Most striking, however, was FOM’s determination that bringing Team Andretti-Cadillac into F1 would not “add value to the Championship.” While F1 currently does not have an American-based team, F1 has been determined to increase its presence in the U.S. market. Over the past few years, more than 1 million Americans have tuned into each F1 race, more than doubling over the past few seasons. Last year, F1 hosted three races in America, in Miami, Las Vegas, and Austin, while no other country hosted more than a single race. Even individual teams, such as Red Bull, are courting U.S. fans by hosting events in U.S. cities to “get up close and personal with the marvel of Formula One engineering, bringing together F1 fans.” Clearly there is a financial incentive to adding an American team to F1’s roster, and there is no reason Team Andretti-Cadillac should be blocked unless FOM is trying to insulate its current partners from competition. 

Given these facts, we have serious concerns that the rejection of Team Andretti-Cadillac was based on a desire to exclude a rival from the racetrack, marketing opportunities, and prestige that competing in F1 can lend to a car manufacturer competing to sell cars across the globe. While the FOM claims that it did not consult with current teams before rejecting Team Andretti-Cadillac, it notably references consultations with “key stakeholders,” which likely include team sponsors, including car manufacturers that directly compete against General Motors and Cadillac. That F1 stakeholders may have engaged in concerted action to exclude Team Andretti-Cadillac—especially after it met all technical requirements to join F1—that merits Investigation.

We appreciate your attention to this important issue.

Also interesting:

In the latest episode of the RacingNews365.com podcast, Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding look back at this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen and Lando Norris went head-to-head for the victory around the famous Imola Circuit as McLaren continue to pile the pressure on Red Bull!

Rather watch than listen to the podcast? Click here.

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