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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchLiberty Media disclosed on Aug. 8, 2024, that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division had opened an investigation into Formula 1’s handling of Andretti Formula Racing’s application to join the championship. The disclosure was not a DOJ finding that Liberty Media or Formula 1 had violated antitrust law.
The investigation followed Formula 1’s January 2024 rejection of Andretti’s proposed 2025 or 2026 entry, despite the FIA having advanced Andretti to the commercial-review stage. Public sources reviewed through Aug. 13, 2026, show no final DOJ finding, enforcement action, remedy or closure.
What the DOJ investigation actually concerned
Liberty Media disclosed on Aug. 8, 2024, that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division had opened an investigation into Formula 1’s conduct relating to Andretti Formula Racing’s application to join the FIA Formula One World Championship.
That disclosure did not mean the DOJ had concluded that Liberty Media or Formula 1 broke the law. Liberty’s Form 8-K did not announce a lawsuit, accusation, penalty, remedy, or violation finding. It said the company intended to cooperate with the investigation and related requests for information.
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The issue arose after Formula 1 rejected Andretti’s bid in January 2024, even though the FIA had previously determined that Andretti met its criteria to advance to the commercial-review stage. The public question was whether a powerful, closed-entry sports championship and its commercial-rights holder could exclude a prospective American entrant for reasons that were exclusionary or anticompetitive under U.S. law.
Current public status: Public sources reviewed through Aug. 13, 2026, do not show a final DOJ finding, enforcement action, remedy, or closure. That supports saying there is no publicly documented disposition located—not saying definitively that the investigation remains active.
The Andretti-F1 timeline
| Date | Development | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 2, 2023 | The FIA advanced Andretti Formula Racing to commercial discussions. | The FIA’s sporting and technical review was not the final decision on championship entry. |
| Jan. 31, 2024 | Formula 1 rejected Andretti’s application for the 2025 or 2026 championships. | Formula 1’s commercial assessment said Andretti had not shown that it would add sufficient value to the championship. |
| May 2024 | Bipartisan senators asked the DOJ and FTC to investigate, while the House Judiciary Committee sought information from Formula 1 and Liberty Media. | Congressional scrutiny brought possible U.S. antitrust issues into the public debate. |
| Aug. 8, 2024 | Liberty Media disclosed the DOJ Antitrust Division investigation in an SEC filing. | This is the primary public confirmation that the DOJ had opened an inquiry. |
| Nov. 25, 2024 | Formula 1 announced an agreement in principle with General Motors to support a GM/Cadillac team as the 11th entry for 2026. | The later GM-centered pathway changed the commercial context but was not announced as a settlement or resolution of the investigation. |
Why the FIA’s approval did not guarantee an F1 grid place
The FIA began an application process for prospective teams and assessed their sporting, technical and financial capabilities, along with funding, experience, staffing, sustainability and positive societal impact. Four applicants reached the second phase of the process. The FIA said Andretti was the only applicant to meet the selection criteria in all material respects.
That result allowed Andretti to proceed to the next stage: commercial discussions with Formula One Management. It was not an unconditional championship entry.
This distinction is central to the dispute. The FIA is the sporting regulator, while Formula 1’s commercial-rights operation evaluates the commercial implications of adding a team. The process required both sides to consider the application before a new entrant could be selected. Therefore, saying that the FIA rejected Andretti is incorrect. The FIA advanced Andretti; Formula 1 later rejected the application at the commercial stage.
Formula 1’s stated reasons for rejecting Andretti
Formula 1 published a detailed commercial-assessment statement on Jan. 31, 2024. The points below are Formula 1’s stated reasons, not findings independently established by the DOJ or a court.
Concern about competitiveness
Formula 1 said an 11th team would not automatically add value to the championship. In its assessment, the most important contribution a new entrant could make would be to become competitive enough to fight for podiums and race victories.
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Formula 1 said it did not believe Andretti would be competitive within the proposed timeframe. It cited the difficulty of building two different cars during the first two years of a new operation, Andretti’s initial dependence on a compulsory customer power-unit supplier, and the broader challenge of entering Formula 1 as a new power-unit manufacturer.
The statement acknowledged that General Motors had the resources and credibility to attempt power-unit development. It also stressed that resources and credibility did not guarantee that the project would succeed.
Commercial value and financial impact
Formula 1 said it considered fan growth, fan engagement, prestige, reputation, competitive balance, stakeholder views, race-promoter operations, the effect on the commercial-rights holder’s financial results and the applicant’s financial sustainability.
Its conclusion was that it could not identify a material positive effect on its own financial results. Formula 1 also said that Andretti had not demonstrated that it would add value to the championship. In its research, the Andretti name had recognition among F1 fans, but Formula 1 believed the championship would bring more value to the Andretti brand than Andretti would bring to Formula 1.
Operational pressure on the championship
Formula 1 also argued that an 11th team would create additional operational demands for race promoters and reduce technical, operational and commercial space for the teams already competing.
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Those arguments explain the commercial decision Formula 1 publicly described. They do not, by themselves, answer the antitrust question. An investigation would examine whether the stated reasons were legitimate and consistently applied, or whether the process and result amounted to unlawful exclusion.
The possible 2028 route
Formula 1 left open a different path. It said it would view a 2028 application differently if it involved a General Motors power unit, either through a GM works team or a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house.
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That passage became important after the later GM/Cadillac agreement in principle, although the two developments should not be treated as proof that the original rejection was unlawful.
Why the decision drew antitrust scrutiny
The public concern was not simply that Andretti wanted to race and was turned away. It was that Formula 1 is a highly valuable, limited-entry championship in which admission affects access to global audiences, prize money, sponsorship opportunities and manufacturer visibility.
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Senators including Amy Klobuchar, Gary Peters, Debbie Stabenow, Mike Lee, Alex Padilla, Todd Young and Mike Braun asked the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether excluding the Andretti-Cadillac project could violate U.S. antitrust law. Their letters focused in part on the fact that the proposed entry involved an American racing organization and General Motors.
The House Judiciary Committee separately sought information from Formula 1 and Liberty Media. A later House report described the committee’s work as uncovering potentially anticompetitive practices by Formula One and said Liberty subsequently disclosed the DOJ investigation.
Those congressional actions were requests for investigation and information. They were not findings that Liberty Media, Formula 1 or any participating team had violated the Sherman Act or another antitrust law.
What the DOJ filing does—and does not—say
Liberty Media’s Aug. 8 Form 8-K is the clearest public confirmation of the investigation. Its wording is limited: the DOJ Antitrust Division was investigating Formula 1’s conduct in connection with Andretti Formula Racing’s application.
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- the DOJ’s specific legal theory;
- whether the investigation was civil or criminal;
- the precise entities or individuals treated as targets;
- the documents, testimony or economic analyses requested;
- whether existing teams were alleged to have coordinated with Formula 1; or
- whether the DOJ believed the rejection violated the Sherman Act.
Accordingly, it is too broad to say that Liberty Media itself made every decision at issue. Liberty is the publicly traded corporate parent associated with Formula 1 and the company that made the SEC disclosure. Formula One Management and Formula 1’s commercial-rights operation conducted and published the commercial assessment. The FIA handled the earlier sporting and applicant review.
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It is also premature to describe the investigation as proof that Formula 1 conspired with its existing teams. That could be among the factual questions investigators considered, but the public record does not establish it.
What changed with GM and Cadillac
On Nov. 25, 2024, Formula 1 announced an agreement in principle with General Motors to support bringing GM/Cadillac onto the grid as the 11th team in 2026.
The announcement broadly tracked the distinction in Formula 1’s January statement. Formula 1 had criticized the original proposal in part because of its expected competitiveness and initial reliance on a customer power unit. A future GM-centered project with a works power unit could present a different commercial proposition, particularly if GM developed the power unit and designed the allowable components in-house.
But the later announcement did not say that the original Andretti application had been unlawfully rejected. It also did not say that the DOJ investigation had closed or that the GM/Cadillac agreement resolved the legal dispute. The public sources do not establish whether the change resulted from ordinary commercial reconsideration, revised application terms, congressional pressure, the investigation or some combination of factors.
The safest description is that the entry pathway changed. The GM/Cadillac agreement was a later development, not a publicly announced admission that Formula 1’s original decision violated antitrust law.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is the DOJ investigation still open?
No definitive public answer is available in the record reviewed through Aug. 13, 2026.
The DOJ Antitrust Division’s public closing-statements index, updated June 15, 2026, lists other investigation closures but does not list a closing statement for an Andretti or F1 investigation. Liberty Media’s 2026 annual-report filing reviewed for this matter also does not announce a final public disposition.
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That absence matters, but it has limits. Investigations can end without a public closing statement, and a public index is not proof that an inquiry remains active. The accurate status language is therefore:
Liberty Media disclosed in August 2024 that the DOJ Antitrust Division had opened an investigation into Formula 1’s handling of Andretti’s application. Public sources reviewed through Aug. 13, 2026, do not show a final DOJ finding, enforcement action, remedy or closure.
The unresolved questions
Several important points remain unanswered:
- Did the DOJ close the investigation privately, or does it continue to investigate?
- Did the DOJ conclude that Formula 1, Liberty Media, Formula One Management or any teams violated U.S. antitrust law?
- What documents, communications, testimony or economic analyses did investigators request?
- Did the GM/Cadillac agreement result from changed commercial terms, political pressure, the DOJ inquiry or ordinary business negotiations?
- Did any private litigant, congressional committee or other regulator pursue a separate action or remedy?
Until an official DOJ statement, court filing, settlement, enforcement action or additional company disclosure answers those questions, the story remains an investigation into a disputed entry decision—not a proven antitrust violation.
The entities in plain English
| Entity | Role in the dispute |
|---|---|
| Liberty Media Corporation | The publicly traded corporate parent associated with Formula 1. Liberty disclosed the DOJ inquiry in its SEC filing. |
| Formula One Management / Formula 1 commercial operation | Handled the commercial assessment and published the January 2024 rejection statement. |
| FIA | The sporting regulator that evaluated applicants and advanced Andretti to commercial discussions. |
| Andretti Formula Racing / Andretti Global | The applicant whose proposed 2025 or 2026 entry was rejected at Formula 1’s commercial stage. |
| General Motors and Cadillac | The American manufacturer and brand associated with the proposed entry and the later agreement in principle for a 2026 11th team. |
Bottom line: The DOJ investigated how Formula 1 handled Andretti’s application after the FIA advanced it, but the public record does not establish that the rejection was illegal. The later GM/Cadillac agreement changed the business circumstances without publicly resolving the investigation. Through Aug. 13, 2026, no final DOJ finding, remedy or closure had been publicly documented in the sources reviewed.
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Key public documents
- Liberty Media’s Aug. 8, 2024 Form 8-K disclosing the DOJ Antitrust Division investigation.
- Formula 1’s Jan. 31, 2024 commercial-assessment statement rejecting Andretti’s application.
- The FIA’s Oct. 2, 2023 announcement advancing Andretti to the commercial stage.
- The May 2024 Senate request for DOJ and FTC review.
- The House Judiciary Committee report describing its inquiry.
- Formula 1’s Nov. 25, 2024 announcement of the GM/Cadillac agreement in principle.
- The DOJ Antitrust Division public closing-statements index and Liberty Media’s 2026 annual-report filing reviewed for the status update.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the FIA reject Andretti’s F1 application?
No. The FIA did not reject Andretti. On Oct. 2, 2023, it said Andretti met its applicant criteria in all material respects and advanced the project to commercial discussions with Formula One Management. Formula 1 later rejected the application at that commercial stage.
Did the DOJ find that Formula 1 violated antitrust law?
No public finding establishes that Liberty Media, Formula 1, Formula One Management or any participating team violated U.S. antitrust law. Liberty’s Aug. 8, 2024 Form 8-K disclosed an opened investigation and said the company would cooperate.
Is the DOJ investigation still open?
Not according to the public record reviewed through Aug. 13, 2026. The DOJ’s public closing-statements index did not list an Andretti or F1 closure, but that does not prove the investigation is still active because an inquiry could end without a public closing statement.
Did the GM/Cadillac agreement settle the Andretti dispute?
No. Formula 1’s November 2024 agreement in principle with General Motors concerned a GM/Cadillac pathway to the 2026 grid. The announcement did not say that the original Andretti rejection was unlawful or that the DOJ investigation had been resolved.
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Liberty Media disclosed that the DOJ Antitrust Division was investigating Formula 1’s handling of Andretti’s rejected entry application. That was an investigation, not a finding of unlawful conduct. The later GM/Cadillac agreement changed the entry pathway but was not announced as a settlement, and no final DOJ disposition was publicly documented through Aug. 13, 2026.
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