THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — Virgin Racing will operate with the lowest budget in Formula One, group chairman Richard Branson said Tuesday at the official unveiling of the new team and drivers Lucas Di Grassi and Timo Glock.
Under the slogan "A new team for a new era," Virgin aims to challenge on the newly expanded 13-team grid with a budget of just 40 million pounds (C$68.9 million).
Virgin, which has secured the title sponsorship of the Manor team, joins four other new outfits on the grid for the 2010 season — Lotus, USF1, Campos and Sauber.
"The new era is seeing the costs of entry come down — this team will be the lowest-budget team in Formula One," Branson said. "Money’s not everything. They are determined to prove that via engineering prowess, great drivers and a great affinity with the public they can do well."
Financial details of Virgin’s investment weren’t disclosed and Branson said his group’s main input would be providing use of a brand that is also attached to planes, trains and space travel.
"There are a billion people who watch Formula One and most of them are fanatical and the Virgin brand is maybe one of the top 20 brands in the world," Branson said. "Our involvement is the naming of the team and some money. We’ve lent a bit of money and then, on the back of the brand, the team is managing to get a lot of sponsors."
The ten backers already signed up have funded the debut season. On Monday, the private equity arm of Britain’s part state-owned Lloyds Banking Group announced it had bought a stake in the team reportedly worth about 10 million pounds (C$17 million).
Branson, whose Virgin group backed Brawn GP in its debut season last year, accepts history won’t repeat itself with a double-championship winning success.
"We have been used to struggling and building businesses before," Branson said. "We like to be winners in the end, but we aren’t expected to be as lucky as we were last year, this year.
"But we have every chance of doing respectably well. This is the last 100 per cent owned British team and I think if Virgin hadn’t got involved I don’t think (Manor) would have happened."
The launch epitomized the Virgin brand, with Branson arriving on stage at the chic Notting Hill venue with a dozen electric guitarists creating a sound akin to an F1 engine.
He was joined by executives, including team principal Alex Tai, and the drivers. Glock, the former Toyota driver, had already announced he was joining the team, but official confirmation of Di Grassi’s F1 debut was made at the event. Alvaro Parente and Luiz Razia will be test drivers.
"Timo and I are here together to build a team," said Di Grassi, who has spent the last four seasons in GP2 and was also an F1 test driver for Renault last season. "We’re not working as separate individuals, but as a whole group, working as hard as we can to push the team forward."
Former Benetton F1 designer and Simtek team owner Nick Wirth is leading the technical operation, while Manor founder John Booth is the sporting director.