Virgin Group To Sponsor F1 Team Brawn GP

27 Mar 2009 | tshego

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Sir Richard Branson is expected to confirm Virgin Group’s sponsorship of the newly formed F1 Team Brawn GP at this weekend’s season opener.

There had been speculation that Branson was interested in buying the team, after Honda ended its participation and pulled out a few months ago.

The sponsorship agreement comes as the next step from buying the team as a whole. However, those discussions fizzled out when Branson claimed that the sport needed to be more cost-effective and would have to use cleaner fuels before he could get that fully involved.

The sponsorship deal, made just in time for the opening of the season, is expected to be confirmed in Melbourne today.

It represents Brawn GP’s first major sponsor signing after a management buyout led by now team principal Ross Brawn.

Before the multi-million pound deal comes into effect, Brawn’s cars have no commercial branding except for the Brawn GP and F1 tyre supplier Bridgestone logos.

Media sources have claimed that the team will now carry extensive Virgin branding and may even be done in time for this weekend’s race. However, Branson’s company is not expected to have acquired the team’s title sponsorship rights.