The Brawn GP/Virgin contract ends after Malaysia
As of Saturday morning from Melbourne, the new Brawn GP team and Sir Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Group, have reached a sponsorship agreement together, but this contract could theoretically end after this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The likelihood that Branson has full ownership of both the sponsorship and the team is high, but the […]
As of Saturday morning from Melbourne, the new Brawn GP team and Sir Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Group, have reached a sponsorship agreement together, but this contract could theoretically end after this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
The likelihood that Branson has full ownership of both the sponsorship and the team is high, but the magazine SportsPro reports that the deal was only made for the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix for an amount of $250,000, or nearly €190,000 per race.
However, the contract was concluded in this manner due to the late date of its execution. Indeed, Branson boarded a plane connecting the European continent to Melbourne as soon as the team confirmed. He reportedly even left his family on a ski vacation to be present in the Australian paddocks by Saturday.
The BGP 001, powered by Mercedes, was devoid of any sponsor, but for the third free practice session on Saturday morning, it displayed several Virgin logos, sent by email from London and then transformed into vinyl stickers in the Australian city.
The British billionaire admitted at Albert Park that the deal is likely to be extended soon unless the new team receives a better offer.
