US politicians are threatening to investigate Formula 1 for anti-competitive business practices on the eve of its first race of the year in the United States after the sport rejected Andretti Global’s bid to join the grid.

In an open letter addressed to Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, 12 members of US Congress are demanding that F1 answer three questions before the start of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix or risk an inquiry on antitrust grounds.

Andretti Global is backed by former F1 racer and Champ Car champion Michael Andretti, son of 1978 F1 champion and American racing icon Mario Andretti, and tied up with auto giant General Motors.

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It was the only one of four bids approved by motorsport governing body the FIA last year, but Formula 1 Management (FOM), owned by US company Liberty Media, barred the team from entry in a controversial decision in January.

FOM argued in a lengthy statement that Andretti was unlikely to be competitive and would therefore bring no additional value to the sport.

Just days out from the third grand prix in Miami, 12 Congress men and women from both major parties have accused the sport’s management of bowing to pressure to protect the 10 existing mostly EU-based teams and their associated car businesses in what they claim could amount to anti-competitive practices prejudicing American business interests.

“FOM’s rejection appears to be driven by the current line-up of European Formula 1 race teams, many of which are affiliated with foreign automobile manufacturers that directly compete with American automotive companies like GM,” they wrote. “It is unfair and wrong to attempt to block American companies from joining Formula 1, which could also violate American antitrust laws.

“Participation of all Formula 1 teams — including any American teams — should be based on merit and not just limited to protecting the current line-up of race teams. This is especially true considering Formula 1’s growing presence in the United States, including three grand prix motoring racing events in Miami, Florida; Austin, Texas; and Las Vegas, Nevada.”

Though the existing 10 teams have no say in FOM’s approval process, most of them have been vehemently against expanding the grid because it would reduce their shares of the prize pool.

Only McLaren, run by Zak Brown, a friend of Michael Andretti, and Alpine, whose parent company Renault has a tentative agreement to supply the team with engines until 2028, have been open to the idea.

Those two teams were the only ones to sign a letter of support shopped around by Andretti at last year’s Miami Grand Prix in a public display of lobbying said to have gone down badly in F1’s head office.

One year on from that spectacularly backfired play to win support, Mario Andretti — who said was “offended” by the reasons F1 put forward for its rejection — said he was anticipating a meeting with F1 executives in Miami this weekend to further the prospective team’s cause.

But the sport has shown little sign of wavering from its position, and now Andretti has spectacularly upped the ante by enlisting Washington DC to try to blow open F1’s locked door.

THREE DEMANDS TO AVOID INVESTIGATION

The legislators have demanded Formula 1 answer three questions by today — Friday US time, overnight Australia time — or risk pursuit on anti-competitive grounds.

The first question requires Formula 1 to explain how it reached a different conclusion to the FIA on the viability of Andretti’s proposed team.

“Under what authority does FOM proceed to reject admission of Andretti Global? What is the rationale for FOM’s rejection, especially with respect to Andretti Global and its partner GM, potentially being the first American-owned and America-built race team?”

FOM and the FIA assessed the bid on different criteria. While the FIA deemed Andretti technologically and financially competent, FOM’s remit is confined strictly to commercial matters, and it decided that it wouldn’t be competitive enough to bring additional value to the category despite bringing General Motors to F1 for the first time.

The second question requires the sport to justify how the decision complies with US antitrust regulations.

“The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 outlaws unreasonable restraints on market competition to produce the best outcome for the American consumer. How does FOM’s denial of Andretti Global and GM, American-owned companies, square with Sherman Act requirements, since the decision will benefit incumbent European racing teams and their foreign automobile manufacturing affiliates?”

The final question requires F1 to prove it wasn’t influenced by European manufacturers protecting their own commercial interests.

“We understand that GM intends to reintroduce its Cadillac brand into the European market, which would support thousands of good-paying American automotive jobs, especially with Formula 1’s worldwide audience and its halo effect on its teams and sponsors,” the letter said.

“How much did GM’s and Andretti’s entrance into racing competition taking a portion of the racing market share and GM’s entry into the European [road car] market taking [consumer] market share each play into the decision to deny admission to the Andretti Global team, given the public outcry of incumbent Formula 1 teams against a new American competitor?”

The group of politicians warned that they “continue to exercise oversight on this matter … with the appropriate federal regulators to ensure that any potential violations of US anticompetition law are expeditiously investigated and pursued”.

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‘AMERICA DEMANDS ITS DUE’

Congressman John James, a representative from General Motors home state Michigan, is leading the push for more transparency over Andretti’s blocked bid.

Flanked by Mario Andretti in a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, James said F1’s rejection looked like a grab for cash.

“From the outside looking in, one can ask: is this a money grab?” he said, per NBC. “One can ask: is Formula 1, is Liberty Media, kicking the can down the road for a different agreement so that they can go from $200 million to $1 billion extracted from Andretti-Cadillac?”

“Meanwhile, the commitment has been shown by Andretti-Cadillac, I think, to the tune of millions of dollars a month in preparing for the standards of complying with everything.”

James’s billion-dollar reference is to reports that the exiting teams are pushing for a massive hike to the ‘anti-dilution’ fee embedded in the Concorde agreement, the commercial document that governs the sport by binding them, the FIA and FOM together.

The anti-dilution fee is payable by any new entry to the existing teams to make up for lost income for having to divide the prize pool into smaller shares.

The fee was set at US$200 million (A$304 million) in 2021 and based on the value of the backmarker Williams team, which was sold to current owner Dorilton Capital for €152 million ($248 million) the previous year.

However, team values have ballooned in the post-pandemic era.

The sale of a minority stake in Aston Martin last year reportedly valued the team at $1.85 billion. Alpine achieved a similar $1.36 billion valuation in 2023.

The anti-dilution fee is expected to rocket to as high as US$600 million (A$913 million) or more under the new Concorde agreement, which will come into force in 2026.

Formula 1 has hinted it would be open to reassessing Andretti’s bid in 2028, by which time General Motors will have completed work on its F1 power unit.

A later entry would also mean the team would join the sport under the new Concorde agreement and be liable to pay the higher ant-dilution fee.

James said he was pursuing Andretti’s cause as a matter of principal.

“America demands its due,” he said, per ABC in the United States. “If you want access to our markets, if you want access to our fans, you must grant access to our companies, you must grant access to our automotive workers, you must grant access to Americans themselves.

“We hope that we can resolve this to do business together for our mutual benefit, but particularly for America.

“If not, we will have our questions answered, because we have an obligation to protect the American consumer, to protect American companies, and that is our first allegiance.

“Those who are seeking to take advantage will be held accountable.

“It’s not just supporting Andretti. It’s about supporting Americans.”

Mario Andretti said the team was ready for Formula 1, having already fielded successful entries in several other high-profile categories.

“We’re ready with everything that’s needed,” he said, per NBC. “Give us a green light and let us do our thing.

“Our team, Andretti Global, is part of every major racing discipline in the world. Formula 1 is the one that’s left, and we want to be part of that.

“We have all the passion and resolve necessary.”

Andretti Global’s resolve has remained uninhibited by the controversy.

The team has committed to building a new F1-capable factory near Indianapolis by 2025 and last month opened its UK F1 headquarters near Silverstone, where an existing workforce of around 80 people is set to grow following the advertising of 60 new positions.

The team is targeting to have its entry approved before 2026 to join the grid under the first year of the new regulations.

Andretti had a power unit supply pre-agreement with Renault to bridge the two-year gap between a proposed 2026 entry and General Motors debuting its Cadillac motor in 2028. The French company has said it would be happy to resume talks over a deal if the team were granted an entry.