Branson launches Virgin F1 Team

Next year's Formula One World Championship will see a new team on its grid. The new Manor team will pair up drivers Timo Glock and Lucas Di Grassi, and will be sponsored by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

Richard Branson took center stage at the official launch of the F1 team in London on Tuesday.

Virgin Group's president and Brawn GP shareholder Richard Branson  answers a journalist on the grid of the Sakhir racetrack, before  the start of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, in April, in  Manama. New Formula One team Manor GP is to be rebranded as Virgin  Racing following the announcement of a sponsorship agreement with  Sir Richard Branson's business empire.(AFP/File/Fred Dufour)

Virgin Racing is joining four other new teams for the upcoming season on the newly expanded 13-team grid.

The Virgin Chairman says this is something of a new beginning.

Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, says, "Its tremendous and we have got these four brilliant drivers with Timo Glock being our lead driver. Tremendous engineers and it is a new British team and I think that we are going to be the last British team standing."