Virgin Racing Aims to Push for F1 Title in 3 Years

Virgin Racing's Sir Richard Branson was rather optimistic after the first grand prix of the 2010 Formula One season, despite the fact that neither of his two drivers managed to cross the finish line in Bahrain. While confident that time will resolve the reliability issues his team is facing in the series, Branson seems to aim much higher in the Great Circus that initially believed.

According to Branson, the example his team is guiding upon when it comes to F1 performance is not Ferrari, McLaren or Renault – as these are big shot manufacturers investing tons of money into their F1 operations – but Red Bull Racing, the outfit everyone seems to consider title favorites for 2010.

“Look at Red Bull, who were ahead of Ferrari, which is fantastic, for all of their talk. One day, hopefully, Virgin will overtake Red Bull. You've got to start somewhere, and we have a couple of hundred people enjoying the challenge,” said Branson, according to planetf1.com.

However, in order for that to happen, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA must come together to meet the small teams halfway, meaning to bring down the costs of an F1 operation to around £40 million per season for each team. If that were to happen, the British billionaire is convinced his team would become a title contender in 3 to 5 years.

“If the rules are adhered to and everyone comes within a £40million budget we're working to this year, in a couple of years' time we will know how to run a team at that level. The other teams will have to come down to that, so things will start equalling out. So we're hoping three to five years (to be challenging), rather than five years. Who is to know?” added Branson.