It’s a new day in the F1 world and a new development in the Andretti saga has already come up. The back and forth between the Andrettis and the Formula 1 stakeholders has reached the US Department of Justice now. As the American father-son duo of Mario Andretti and Michael Andretti was looking for ways to enter the F1 scenery with their own team, they found a roadblock in the form of the Formula One Management or FOM, which is spearheaded by the Liberty Media.

Even though the FIA (F1’s rule-making body) gave the team the green light for its F1 debut, the FOM rejected the proposal. But what was the reason behind the Liberty Media (the US corporation that owns and manages F1) to refuse to let Andretti become the latest squad to join Formula 1? Well, they said Andretti Motorsport would not bring any value to the sport, and thus they were rejecting their proposal. Now, turning down an American brand from joining an international competition has piqued the interest of some US Senators who took the matter to the DoJ. After the investigation, the Department of Justice started an antitrust lawsuit against Liberty Media.

Now, legal expert Dr Heather Anson has her doubts regarding the reason that Liberty Media has given for their rejection of Andretti’s bid. But she sees two ways in which the American corporation might want to get an advantage out of this lawsuit even though they might lose it in the end. She told the ‘Missed Apex F1’ podcasters, “I thought, from the beginning, that they [Liberty Media] were taking bad advice. However, if they get very, very good attorneys who are used to defending anti-trust cases, two things can happen. One, they can actually find a good argument which they haven’t provided yet but they could find one.”

Anson continued with, “Two, they [Liberty Media] can stall it [the lawsuit] long enough to do what, I think, is one of the reasons that’s holding this up. Which is, the Concorde Agreement expiring.” Now, the Concorde Agreement serves the purpose of defining all commercial rights within Formula 1. It also states the amount of money a new entrant needs to pay if his team is to race in F1. There has been some news that the current version of the Concorde Agreement will expire soon and some new changes will be incorporated into the next edition. Then, the fee required of Andretti Global, which stands at $200 million now, will turn into $600 million by 2026. In this way, Liberty Media might make a lot of money from the Andretti bid.

However, Liberty Media’s rejection of Andretti’s proposal to join F1 has ruffled the feathers of several veterans of the sport too. So, what did ex-F1 team owner Jordan have to say about this?

Eddie Jordan claims Liberty Media has disrespected the Andretti name

The patriarch of the Andretti family, Mario Andretti is famous across the US as one of its best racers in history. There is hardly any Championship where Mario Andretti has not won a race. Following his success on the racing circuit as a racecar driver, he founded Andretti Autosport with his son Michael. Soon, Mario Andretti’s squad tremendously excelled in a variety of racing categories too.

But all that Mario Andretti touches does not turn into gold. He wants to enter the F1 scene as a team owner but this journey has only seen some giant obstacles till now. However, a former F1 team owner, Eddie Jordan, believes Liberty Media should approve of Andretti’s bid. He said, “We shouldn’t forget Mario getting the pole for that 68 US Grand Prix at the Glenn as well. I am saying all this in the context of the way how badly Formula 1 has treated Mario Andretti the Andretti family name by not allowing Michael to put the team together to come in Formula 1.”

Well, the matter might see some solution soon as the DoJ seems up on arms to resolve the conflict between the FOM and Andretti Motorsport. If they reach a decision, Andretti-Cadillac might debut in F1 soon–but do you think that is a possibility?