In a significant development, six U.S. senators have called for both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Formula One Management's (FOM) decision to reject Andretti's bid to join the grid in either 2025 or 2026. The bipartisan group of senators has raised concerns that such a refusal to deal could potentially violate U.S. antitrust laws.

According to a letter obtained by The Athletic, the senators, including Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, directed their letter to Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, and Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's antitrust division. The senators believe that FOM's rejection of Andretti's bid, especially if orchestrated through a group boycott, could indicate anti-competitive behavior.

Notably, the senators' letter comes after the House Judiciary Committee initiated its own investigation into the matter. Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the committee, wrote a letter to Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali requesting various documents and communications relating to FOM's decision.

At the heart of the ongoing situation is the question of whether FOM engaged in anti-competitive behavior. While the decision to approve Andretti's bid fell under FOM's jurisdiction as the commercial rights holder, it was the FIA, the governing body, that had previously approved Andretti's bid for technical and sporting merits. FOM rejected the bid for a range of reasons but left the possibility open for the team to be involved in the future.

The concept of added value is another element in this debate. F1 stated that its research showed that the championship would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around. FOM said it could not identify any significant positive impact on financial results and concluded that Andretti's application should not be successful. The senators highlighted F1's investment in growing its American fanbase as they discussed the aspect of added value in their letter.

If the FTC or DOJ become involved, it could greatly escalate the ongoing situation, given their authority to enforce antitrust law. The senators express their concerns that the rejection of Team Andretti-Cadillac was potentially based on a desire to exclude a rival from marketing opportunities, track presence, and the prestige associated with competing in F1.

In a related development, Andretti has announced that Pat Symonds, F1's outgoing chief technical officer, will join the team. Symonds, who has been instrumental in shaping car regulations since 2022, has been placed on gardening leave by F1 and will join Andretti as an executive engineering consultant once his leave is completed. This addition further strengthens the growing Andretti F1 project, which already has former Renault F1 technical chief Nick Chester leading the design group as they await approval to enter the field.

The calls for investigation by senators and the ongoing scrutiny from the House Judiciary Committee reflect the significance of this matter within the F1 community. As the situation unfolds, the potential implications for FOM's decision to reject Andretti's bid and the overall competition in the sport remain a subject of intense debate and scrutiny.