Sauber Loses Sponsor to Virgin Racing

They may have secured their future in the Formula One Championship (at least for the 2010 season) and kept their title sponsor for an additional year, namely Petronas, but Sauber F1 Team recently found out that one of their important sponsors for the 2009 season decided to switch support to another outfit.

We're talking about foreign exchange broker FxPro, which was first confirmed as BMW Sauber F1 sponsor prior to the beginning of the 2009 season. Their initial deal with the team was signed for a one-year period of time, with “branding on the front wing, side mirrors, drivers' helmets and overalls of the 2009 car.”

However, due to the BMW car maker withdrawing from the series at the end of 2009 and the low prospects of the Swiss outfit for the 2009 season, FxPro decided to switch sponsorship backing to new kids on the block Virgin Racing. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group recently confirmed its new F1 team for the 2010 season, with Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi as official race drivers.

Actually, FxPro is the first sponsor Virgin Racing has managed to sign since the official launch of their team (which happened a couple of days ago, in London). The news from the broker company doesn't show the term for which the deal has been inked, but it does reveal the enthusiasm from chairman Denis Sukhotin.

“I'm absolutely delighted that FxPro is sponsoring Virgin Racing in Formula One,” said Sukhotin, according to a report from the GMM news agency.

FxPro's announcement comes in the same day with Sauber F1's signing Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi for the 2010 season. The signing did not come alone however, with Kobayashi expected to bring in some considerable sponsorship from Japanese giant Panasonic.