The Andretti case reopens: now, the United States Department of Justice is officially proceeding with an investigation against Liberty Media.
The Andretti case is back in the spotlight. After his entry as a new team in the F1 championship was initially supported by the FIA but later rejected by the same body, which advised Andretti to focus on acquiring an existing team, Liberty Media is now under investigation by the United States Department of Justice.
The rejection received by the American giant was brought to the attention of Republican Jim Jordan, who requested further clarification regarding the decision-making process that led the organization to reject Andretti. This inquiry was directed at the owners of Formula 1, leading to an escalation of political interest. The situation eventually prompted the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to open an investigation into Liberty Media as well.
Andretti Case, Maffei: “We will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
”Regarding Andretti […] we have announced the existence of an investigation by the Department of Justice. We intend to fully cooperate with this investigation, including any related information requests” Greg Maffei communicated to Wall Street last Thursday.
The CEO of Liberty Media stated that no antitrust laws were violated regarding the Andretti Autosport team, affirming that every decision made was adequately justified: “We believe that our decision, the decision of F1, was in compliance with all applicable U.S. antitrust laws, and we have detailed the reasons for our decision regarding Andretti in previous statements. We are certainly not opposed to the idea that any expansion is wrong.“
“There is an expansion methodology that requires approval from both the FIA and F1, and both groups must find the criteria met. We are certainly open to receiving applications from new competitors and their potential approval if the requirements are satisfied,” Maffei concluded.
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