New Virgin team completes line-up

Virgin is bringing back designer Nick Wirth (centre) to F1

Virgin boss Richard Branson has launched his brand's new team having joined forces with the new Manor team.

Branson has decided Virgin will get more value out of backing an underdog after sponsoring Brawn GP in their championship-winning debut season.

Brawn said: "Our first year in F1 has been tremendous. Why not start another team from scratch?"

German former Toyota driver Timo Glock will be joined by former Renault reserve driver Lucas di Grassi.

Di Grassi became Renault's reserve driver in 2009 but will now make his F1 race debut with Virgin Racing.

The 25-year-old finished runner-up to Glock in the 2007 GP2 Series, F1's feeder competition.

Glock, who will be entering his third season in F1, signed a two-year deal to become Virgin's lead driver after finding himself without a drive for 2010 following Toyota's withdrawal.

Virgin are one of four new entrants joining F1 next season, along with US F1, Campos and Lotus F1.

Manor, who are run by former single-seater champion John Booth, were awarded a place on the 2010 grid last June.

They entered F1 at a time when former motorsport boss Max Mosley was proposing a £40m budget cap on the sport - an idea that was rejected in a power struggle with the F1 teams, who succeeded in forcing Mosley not to stand again as president of governing body the FIA in October's elections.

Instead, the teams have agreed to restrict budgets to "mid-1990s levels" which will probably mean the leading teams spend more than £100m in 2010.

But Virgin said at their official launch in London on Tuesday that they would still operate with a £40m budget.

Manor Motorsport have a successful history in junior single-seater racing and can count former world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton as past drivers.

Now, the company are preparing to take a huge leap forward into F1 as the rebranded Virgin Racing team.

Former Benetton designer and Simtek team owner Nick Wirth is leading the team's technical division from his headquarters in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Wirth was Benetton chief designer as the team slid from competitiveness in the late 1990s following Michael Schumacher's departure for Ferrari.

Simtek had an ignominious two years in F1 in 1994-5 before collapsing with debts of £6m.

More to follow.

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