Report: Virgin to leave Brawn and instead rename Manor F1 team; YouTube to sponsor USF1

[wmcot]

With YouTube sponsoring USGPE, does that mean the display of the track map on the steering wheels will be replaced with YouTube videos for the driver to watch during the race?

[Dave B]

Or Google street views of the track with all the spectators' faces blurred.

[AJP]

USF1 was going to be named after YouTube , but as YouTube , Twitter , and Facebook have just merged , Peter Windsor's team will now be called "You Twit Face F1" .

Nice one Bags!!

[wmcot]

Breaking news from 2006?

Some people are still stuck in the Schumacher era!

[CNR]

Breaking news from 2006?

so why would youtube YouTube co-founder American Chad Hurley be there reportedly putting the finishing touches on a deal with the new US F1 team.


http://www.teletext.co.uk/motorsport...uncertain.aspx
Manor plans uncertain

Manor Grand Prix admit they are unsure over how the new regulations agreed for 2010 will affect their entry.

The team were handed an entry next year, but they had wanted to race under the proposed £40m budget cap, which has now been abandoned.

[keysersoze]

Branson to sponsor a team? By his own admission this is his umpteenth attempt.

Publicity stunt.

[Giuseppe F1]

An email has alledgedly been leaked the the UK newspaper, THE GUARDIAN today stating that the deal is done and will see Virgin take a 20% stake in the Manor Team and apparently Saudi inverstors are involved too.

It seems that the deal has been part brokered or facilitated at least by the FIA's Donnelly which is sure to anger the FOTA teams even more over allegations of conflict of interest.

Alot of the F1 sites are covering this new development in this story:

AUTOSPORT.COM
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76653

Virgin set for Manor GP move

By Jonathan Noble
Friday, July 3rd 2009, 09:33 GMT

Virgin's switch from sponsoring Brawn GP to the new Manor team has been all but confirmed, after the Guardian newspaper published on Friday a leaked email saying the deal was done.

There has been intense speculation that Richard Branson's company would join the F1 newcomers for several weeks, with one source saying that the team has informed other potential sponsors that Virgin will buy into the outfit and have it renamed.

Manor itself has kept tight-lipped on the Virgin deal, with team boss John Booth telling AUTOSPORT last week that he would not comment on commercial deals.

However, the Guardian has published an email from Alan Donnelly, who is Max Mosley's official representative, saying the Virgin tie-up was completed several weeks ago.

"Virgin have signed to be investment partners with a share holding of around 20%," said the email.

Although the news of Virgin's deal with Manor is interesting enough, the involvement of Donnelly in the deal has added fresh intrigue - with several teams questioning whether or not there is a conflict of interest in his role as stewards' adviser.

The Formula One Teams' Association has already written to the FIA questioning Donnelly's neutrality in his steward role, although the governing body insists that any support for new teams is merely part of what should be expected to help bolster the grid and improve the sport.

The Guardian also revealed, however, that Donnelly proposed helping put together a deal with the Saudi royal family and the Manor team.

"I will be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and look forward to seeing you at our planned meeting . . . with representatives of Manor and Virgin," wrote Donnelly in his email, sent to the Saudi royal family.

"However if you would like a pre-meeting with me privately on Sunday then please let me know."

Donnelly himself, however, insists that his visit to Saudi Arabia was purely official FIA business to meet with the country's sports ministry, potential investors in new circuits and the Saudi Motorsport Federation.

"I also met potential investors in Formula 1," the Guardian quoted him as saying. "It would be odd for an FIA representative to refuse to assist in any of these projects."


-----------------


F1-LIVE.COM
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headline...03102530.shtml

Leaked email says Virgin buying Manor stake
Donnelly linking up Virgin, Manor and Saudi investors
03/07/09 10:25
Virgin reportedly taking a stake in Manor

Virgin has decided to buy a share of the new Manor Formula One team, a leaked email has confirmed.

Sir Richard Branson's brand currently backs Brawn GP but the British billionaire said recently that the success of the team in 2009 had sent its 2010 sponsorship price too high.

We reported last week that Virgin may already have signed a deal to re-name and possible buy into the new 2010 entrant Manor, which involves FIA President Max Mosley's former Simtek colleague Nick Wirth.

Recent reports indicated that Mosley's FIA representative at Grand Prix and chief steward Alan Donnelly may also be involved, confirmed now in the pages of the Guardian newspaper.

An email authored by Donnelly indicates that the Virgin-Manor linkup was in place even before Manor was selected to join fellow new teams US F1 and Campos on the 2010 grid.

"Virgin have signed to be investment partners with a shareholding of around 20 percent,” Donnelly wrote.

Donnelly's questionable neutrality is also likely to return to the spotlight due to his arranging of meetings with Manor officials and a member of the Saudi royal family.


His email, attached to a draft Manor sponsorship and investment agreement, goes on: "I will be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and look forward to seeing you at our planned meeting ... with representatives of Manor and Virgin.

"However if you would like a pre-meeting with me privately on Sunday then please let me know," Donnelly added.

Virgin and Manor did not comment, while Donnelly insists the email is not evidence of improper behaviour as he was already in Saudi Arabia on official FIA business.

Manor boss John Booth, meanwhile, told the English newspaper Dinnington Guardian that the team's commercial package will be confirmed in the next few months, followed by announcements regarding drivers in October.

E.A. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

[Bagwan]

Did we just catch the fox trying to get into the henhouse ?

Was Manor , a team kept secret until the last moment , a concocted scheme to join and dismantle FOTA ?

Stay tuned , as , right after this Virgin commercial , we'll be showing David Copperfield's "My favourite sleight of hand tricks" .

[I am evil Homer]

Does it matter....they'll be lucky to scrape into the Top 12 and Donnelly and Branson will both have to hide their embarassment.

[gshevlin]

In the past in F1, corporations have entered as a large-space or primary sponsor with a smaller team, then they have concluded that they get more value from less signage with a front-running team.
An example is Segafredo Zanetti, which was a primary sponsor for the Toleman team in 1984, but ended up taking much smaller signage at McLaren for 1985 and 1986. There are other examples out there, but this is the one that immediately springs to mind.
Right now VIrgin's investment in Brawn is about as far forward as they can get on the results and publicity grid in F1. Any investment in Manor (and investing in an F1 team is a distinctly high-risk gamble right now, given general uncertainty about the future of F1 and the global economic situation) will be in a start-up team, which is unlikely to be winning races any time soon.
I see no compelling business logic for the decision by Virgin to partner with Manor. In fact, as per my comments above, I can see at least two compelling arguments against this strategy.