Formula 1 @lemmy.world Rapidcreek @lemmy.world 6 mo. ago

U.S. Congress members demand answers on Andretti's exclusion from Formula 1

www.nbcnews.com U.S. Congress members demand answers on Andretti's exclusion from Formula 1

Former F1 world champion Mario Andretti held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol with Michigan Rep. John James to make their case for admitting Andretti Cadillac on the grid.

55 comments

I want Andretti in F1 too (well, more precisely I want another team or two. Or at least someone else to take over a pointless team like Haas or ~~Minardi~~ ~~Toro Rosso~~ ~~Alpha Tauri~~ Diet Red Bull, I don't really give a shit whether it's Andretti or not)

But what the hell does this have to do with random US politicians? They don't have a say on this. This just seems like some politician trying to get a bit of free PR. He surely can't actually believe his shouting into the wind counts for anything, can he?

If this nonsense is allowed, imagine the can of worms it would open. All of a sudden plenty of countries could say it's not fair and demand they also have teams allowed to enter. Should the NFL have to let British teams join if the UK government started kicking up a fuss about it? I'd say no.
- As the article explains, Congressmen invoked the Sherman Act. That has to do with competitive markets. congress has the authority to make laws and make sure they are followed in interstate commerce, which F1 falls under. So, they are doing their job.
  
  The NFL doesn't allow competition from teams from plenty of countries. Should those countries be able to sue the NFL on that basis, saying it's anti-competitive?
  
  If your opinion on the above is "no", could you then explain what merits this double standard?
  
  There seems to be an element of US exceptionalism here. The US does not get to impose management terms on foreign sporting organisations, except for the events that take place within their borders.
  
  Or andretti made a considerable donation to their campaign ;)
  
  Surely any country could do this, making it laughably unrealistic.
  
  Any country could just say "according to our interpretation of our law X, you must allow new F1 entries from our country"
  
  I imagine the FIA is under no obligation to allow entry of a team just because some country where the FIA isn't even based demands it.
  
  I guess Liberty being American adds complexity, but as far as I know it's not up to them.
  
  Similarly, if the UK said their laws state that UK teams should be able to join the NFL, it should be laughed at. But that's what the US is doing here.
- They think European businesses (most of the teams are European) are colluding to prevent an American business’s participation in an industry. Which violates US anti-trust laws. Formula 1 will either have to prove that isn’t happening(it clearly is), or allow the American team to participate, or stop doing business in the US. Along with paying whatever fine is decided upon. Formula 1’s best bet at this stage is allowing Andretti/GM to enter
  
  It may violate US anti-trust laws. It might also violate Bangladeshi anti-trust laws. Doesn't really matter as FOM isn't under their jurisdiction, not is the Concorde Agreement.
  
  There's nothing they can do about it other than say no you can't race here. Which is obviously not what FOM wants, but that's quite a bit different to a legal challenge, which would have to go through the UK/UK law.
This definitely feels a little like getting your parents to fix things. Having said that, I bet you anything that if a Saudi Arabia based team wanted in. They would very much get Mohammed bin Salman to put a call into Liberty Media and FIA. And I would be very surprised if the Saudi team wasn't approved the next week

Also I kind of don't care if it's a little whiny because Andretti got screwed and I want to see them in F1. It would be nice to have an American team that cares.
This will help as much as your mother calling the CEO of the company that didn't hire you, to demand reasons why they didn't think her baby is awesome
- It is a bit "Team America" of them to think they can just demand it because the current owners of the commercial rights (or whatever it is that Liberty actually own, it's hard to tell!) happen to be American.
  
  USA politicians: 'We demand that you let the American teams in!'
  
  Liberty: 'Well it's not really our decision, you'll have to ask the teams'
  
  Teams: 'Lol, you're not our boss, you have no power here!'
  
  That said, I'd love to see more teams on the grid so I'll still be happy if this wacky scheme pays off!
- IDK, I suppose FIFA thought the same thing.
If there is any way that they could beat red bull and max, I'm all for them joining.

I kinda doubt they stand a chance though 😕

Hopefully losing their designer will actually hurt red bull.

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