Virgin to drop sponsorship of Brawn
"I think that certain of those personalities on both sides need to know the art of compromise and sense needs to prevail," Branson said. "If I can do anything to help I'd certainly be interested in doing so."
06/21/09 Virgin boss Richard Branson on Sunday revealed that he does not plan to continue his sponsorship of the Brawn GP team next year because it would be too expensive to compete in the drunken sailor spending breakaway series that Brawn GP has aligned with where the top teams spend over $400M per year.
Virgin stepped in as a key sponsor for Brawn as they scrambled to get the team off the ground immediately before the start of the season.
At that stage, no one expected Jenson Button to be the runaway leader of the Drivers' Championship and for Brawn to be heading the Constructors' table. But that runaway success will change the equation significantly for next year, and Branson admits the numbers will no longer add up.
"We got in when it was very cheap and it's been great for us with global coverage, but I suspect next year the price will be astronomical and we may have to look somewhere else with a smaller team," he told Radio Five Live's Sportsweek.
"We at Virgin have most likely got the mileage we needed from it. "Their value has gone from next to nothing to £50million a year and we're delighted for them and we'll have had a fantastic year with them."