Source: USA TODAY Sports/Peter Casey
[Saba Sports News] In February of this year, following a thorough investigation, F1’s owner, American Liberty Media Group, concluded that the addition of an 11th team would not bring new value to F1. Instead, it would incur additional costs and operational burdens for event organizers and limit opportunities for operational, commercial, and technical development for existing participants. Consequently, the Andretti team’s application to enter F1 for the 2025 and 2026 seasons was declined. In response, twelve members of the U.S. Congress jointly requested Liberty Media Group to explain its decision regarding Andretti’s entry into F1. Additionally, the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee called for an investigation into Liberty Media Group’s refusal, citing potential antitrust law violations if F1 continued to deny Andretti’s participation. This marks the second time in the past month that the United States has publicly intervened in this matter. From the editor’s perspective, there are two main categories of professional racing events: those like WEC and Nurburgring 24h, which allow any qualifying participant to register, and those like Indycar, NASCAR, and F1, which utilize a “charter system.” The specifics of the charter system vary between events. In the case of F1, the existing ten teams hold rights and status akin to shareholders, comparable to NBA teams. Therefore, the U.S. House of Representatives’ intervention, invoking antitrust laws, could be seen as unreasonable, as it essentially pressures F1 shareholders to compromise their interests by diluting their shares to accommodate the Andretti team’s entry.