Virgin Bids For Brawn GP Upgrade
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has made Brawn GP an offer to upgrade their association to become the F1 team’s principal sponsor.
Branson’s Virgin Group joined forces with the newly formed F1 team through an initial sponsorship deal just before the Australian Grand Prix and early success has seen Brawn’s popularity rise.
Said Branson: ‘At the moment we are negotiating and we may or may not end up doing a full branding exercise. If someone comes in and pays a silly price we will bow out gracefully. At the moment we’ve made an offer we feel we can afford.
‘The team have become very popular since the beginning of the season. If we don’t do it (become the principal sponsor) we will obviously be the sponsor for this year and would be delighted with the way it has gone, and if we end up doing it, even better. Let’s see how it goes.’
Team principal Ross Brawn confirmed discussions were still ongoing, adding: ‘We are looking to try and develop a bigger, longer-term relationship.
‘It is understanding what they want and what we want. In this particular (financial) environment, any team is looking for medium-term commitments, so it would be nice to have our principal funding in place for the next few years.’
