The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into Liberty Media, the American company that owns the commercial rights to Formula 1, over its refusal to admit the U.S. racing team Andretti Global into the sport.
That’s according to Liberty Media, which notified investors about the inquiry in an official form.
Liberty Media said in the form that it “has received notification from the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division that an investigation has been opened with respect to Formula 1’s conduct concerning the application by Andretti Formula Racing to enter the FIA Formula One World Championship.”
Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei also discussed it on an earnings call Thursday morning.
“We intend to fully cooperate with that investigation, including any related request for information. We believe our determination or F1’s determination was in compliance with all applicable U.S. antitrust laws,” Maffei said on the call.
“And we’ve detailed the rationale for this decision vis-a-vis Andretti in prior statements. We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong,” he said. “There is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of the FIA and the F1 and both groups have to meet find the criteria met. And we’re certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met.”
The Justice Department has thus far declined to comment.
