Formula One news

Manor F1 to be named as Virgin?

Strong rumours are suggesting that Richard Brandon's Virgin brand, currently in partnership with the Brawn GP team, will be linking up with the new Manor F1 team next year and possibly running with Virgin as the name of the outfit.

Richard Branson, head of Virgin

After entrepreneur Branson revealed to the BBC's Radio 5 Live on Sunday morning that his company and the Brawn team are likely to part company at the end of the season, the broadcaster now believes that the Londoner may have already signed a contract with Manor for 2010, with the team likely to be named after the worldwide label.

As Manor - the former team of World Champion Lewis Hamilton in Formula Renault, British F3 and the F3 Euroseries - prepares for the big jump to F1, Branson has already played down the chances of Virgin remaining with the championship-leading Brawn squad. "We at Virgin have most likely got the mileage we needed from it," he said five days ago. "Their value has gone from next to nothing to 50 million pounds a year - we're delighted for them and we'll have had a fantastic year with them."

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