In the round-up: Formula 1 is facing further pressure from the United States government to explain its refusal to allow Andretti to compete.
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In brief
Committee challenges F1’s decision to block Andretti
The House Committee on the Judiciary has written to Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei and FOM president Stefano Domenicali seeking an explanation for why Andretti has not been allowed to enter the world championship. FOM rejected Andretti’s bid in January, three months after it was approved by the FIA.
The letter challenged several aspects of FOM’s refusal to allow Andretti to enter. “The excuses put forward for denying Andretti Cadillac’s entry appear to be pretextual, arbitrary, and unrelated to Andretti Cadillac’s suitability to compete in Formula One,” it stated.
“For example, Formula 1 alleged that a new team could only add value to Formula One by ‘competing for podiums and race wins.’ However, the FIA had already analysed — and approved of — the technical capabilities of Andretti Cadillac to compete among current teams, and most current teams in Formula 1 do not meet Formula 1’s standard of regularly competing for ‘podiums and race wins.’
“Formula 1 also faulted Andretti Cadillac for attempting to use an existing engine manufacturer because it could ‘be damaging to the prestige and standing of’ Formula 1. At the same time, however, Formula One stated that if Andretti Cadillac used a new engine manufactured by General Motors in the team’s first year, a new engine would create a challenge for the new team. Formula 1 cannot have it both ways.”
The committee requested FOM supply a raft of documents relating to its handling of Andretti’s application within two weeks.
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