Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing is seeking sensitive financial documents from Formula One to support their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. They aim to compare the financial structures of the two racing entities, asserting that F1 has a more favorable model. The court filing seeks the Concorde Agreement and details about revenue sharing, amidst F1’s refusal to comply with their requests.
Michael Jordan’s race team, 23XI Racing, has initiated a legal effort to acquire sensitive financial data from Formula One. This action is intended to strengthen their antitrust case against NASCAR, in which they are challenging NASCAR’s franchise-like charter agreements alongside Front Row Motorsports. The team is petitioning a federal court in Colorado to compel Liberty Media, the parent company of Formula One, to disclose critical financial documents, including the Concorde Agreement, which governs commercial aspects of F1.
The main objective of the motion is to enable a comparative analysis, referred to as a “yardstick comparison.” The teams believe that examining the financial metrics of another racing series, which they argue has a more advantageous business structure than NASCAR, will bolster their case. In addition to F1, similar financial data requests have been directed at the NFL, NBA, and NHL in a previous court filing.
In their recent court documentation, 23XI Racing and Front Row claimed that Formula One has declined to provide the sought-after information, even after the teams revised their original request made in February. The motion explicitly states, “F1 has no valid basis for its refusal to produce the requested information.”
The specific financial information requested from Formula One encompasses five categories: revenue breakdown between F1 and its teams from various sources, the revenue-sharing formula, total revenue split data, valuations of current and expansion F1 teams, and the Concorde Agreement itself. The teams clarified they want documents that adequately illustrate these points, excluding the need for exhaustive searches of individual executive communications.
Liberty Media previously labeled the demands from the NASCAR teams as excessive due to potential exposure of sensitive commercial information. However, 23XI Racing contended that their requests do not impose an undue burden, as they are seeking only documents sufficient to show the necessary basis for their claims without overreaching.
Despite the confidential nature of the Concorde Agreement and revenue-sharing specifics, the legal motion suggests that confidentiality concerns can be alleviated by managing the information under a protective court order. Currently, the teams are preparing for a trial starting December 1, having secured a preliminary injunction that enables them to operate as charter teams this season, thereby assuring their participation and potential revenue for 2025.
23XI Racing’s effort to obtain sensitive financial information from Formula One underscores a strategic legal maneuver to support their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. With claims regarding NASCAR’s charter agreements, the race team seeks to highlight the comparative financial advantages of Formula One. As the legal battle progresses, the case reflects broader issues within the governance and financial structure of competitive racing.
Original Source: www.nytimes.com
