23/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Liberty Media CEO, Greg Maffei is said to have told Mario Andretti that he would do everything in his power to ensure his team never lines up on F1 grid.
The long-running saga over the American team's proposed entry took a new twist as it was claimed by 1978 world champion, Mario Andretti that Greg Maffei, the CEO of F1's owners, Liberty Media, had made clear that he would personally block the team's bid.
Over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Mario attended an invitation only event at the Palm Club where he met F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, who asked the 1978 world champion about his visit to Washington where he had been invited to speak about his son's team bid to enter the sport outside the Capitol.
"I was asked to go there," Andretti told NBC. "And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano, Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei, broke in the conversation and he said: 'Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1,'" he added, referring to his son, Michael Andretti.
"I could not believe that," admitted Mario. "That one really floored me. We're talking about business. I didn't know it was something so personal. That was really... oh, my goodness. I could not believe it. It was just like a bullet through my heart."
However, according to NBC, a source said to be close to Liberty Media, gave a different version of events.
"Andretti approached Greg at the breakfast to have a discussion with him," said the source, who demanded anonymity, and added that Maffei had told Andretti that the application to enter F1 in 2025 or 2026 had been rejected "for good business reasons".
In recent weeks the saga has taken on new significance with the House Judiciary Committee opening an inquiry, while group of senators is calling on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to launch an antitrust investigation into what they claim anti-competitive practices aimed at protecting the (mostly) European teams from American competition.
Such a move was always going to antagonise F1 and its owners, but Andretti insists that he did not raise the issue in Washington and that in fact it was they who approached him after a recent demo run in the capital by Red Bull sparked their interest in the sport.
"I did not initiate that," he insisted.
Whatever the truth of the Miami encounter, or the outcome of the lawmakers inquiries, Andretti is still hopeful that the situation can be resolved.
"We're bringing something of value," he said. "It's a big investment in the sport that we love or sport that's our job and our passion. It's a long-term commitment. We've done everything that needs to be accomplished, needs to be done to earn a spot in Formula 1. What else do you want us to do?"