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Virgin sticking with low-budget approach

Unimpressed with Ferrari tirade against new teams

By

27 February 2010 - 11:24

The FIA’s proposed plans of a budget cap in Formula One failed last year, but the general cost reduction drive has helped make it possible for new teams to enter the sport.

Speaking to Autosport, Virgin boss Richard Branson admitted that his new team face an uphill battle initially, but is confident that in time the team will be challenging those at the front the of the field.

"By the start of the season I think the gap between the new teams and the old teams will be less,” Branson said. “Give it a year or two.”

“You cannot just build a new team from scratch and immediately start beating Ferrari that has spent £400 million on a car – whereas Virgin has spent less than £40 million. That is the budget that all the teams were meant to spend this year but then at the last minute changed the rules to spend the same kinds of monies that they have been spending for years.

“So, the budgets are a lot less but they are going to be tremendous cars. There will be a race among the new owners and then in time the new owners will start picking off some of the established teams."

Branson believes that the sport need fresh blood and is dismissive of recent comments by Ferrari claiming that the new teams ‘will limp to the start of the championship’.

"I think that it is a bit sad to see Ferrari carrying on with those kinds of words," he said. "F1 needs new teams... Ultimately, I think the new teams will give Ferrari a run for their money and I think will make the sport more exciting, particularly as the budgets come down to more realistic levels."