There are only four companies in the world who make bona-fide space flight vehicles… but which one’s going to brand an F1 car in 2010? Virgin (F1), of course.
Richard Branson has long been known for his ability to pick a winner in business. His gradually-increasing sponsorship placements with Brawn GP demonstrated that he’s still got that talent! Brawn carried the Virgin logos to an astonishing championship in their startup year and although the value of the sponsorship package is uknown it was clearly worth every red cent.
Virgin made it clear early in the 2009 championship that they wouldn’t be interested in branding a team unless the FIA was succesful in its attempts to significantly cap team spending, so it was always unlikely that Virgin would reappear on Brawn’s 2010 car. The majority acquisition of Brawn GP by Mercedes finally made it certain that Virgin would have to look elsewhere if they wished to remain an F1 sponsor.
That’s where Manor GP come in. Touted as a ‘Sheffield’ team by the press (despite being based in nearby Dinnington) Manor are, like all new teams, talking up their F1 ambitions. Manor’s budget will, naturally, be astronomically less than the ‘works’ teams in 2010 and is an ideal placement for Virgin; so they’re going to be branded as Virgin F1 for the 2010 season.
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Sunset Full (F)