After originally entering as Manor Grand Prix, an injection of cash from Richard Branson saw the team become Virgin Racing. The team has its headquarters in Dinnington and originates in John Booth's Manor Motorsport operation which runs in Formula 3. That means the step up to Formula 1 involves having to design their own car and key to their success or failure will be technical director Nick Wirth's company, Wirth Research who will develop and build the car at its base in Bicester. The design of the car and its aerodynamics has been entirely reliant on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), rather than using a traditional wind tunnel. It's a first for Formula 1 but Wirth believes in the future of the CFD design technique in harness with a low cost Formula 1.
2009 Position: -
Timo Glock
Timo Glock came to full-time Formula 1 racing rather late in his career after a short stint at the Jordan team in 2004. Despite joining the select band of drivers who scored points on their début, the German only returned to race full-time at Toyota four years later on the back of becoming the GP2 Champion. 2010 sees Timo taking on the lead role and will be instrumental in giving feedback to a team with no windtunnel experience.
2009: 10th, 24 Points
Lucas di Grassi
Yet another driver out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Lucas di Grassi will race alongside the driver he finished runner-up to in the 2007 GP2 season. Having subsequently placed third in the series for the next two seasons, in 2008 despite missing the first six rounds, it has been a long wait for a Formula 1 seat. Lucas has long been associated with Renault and so it was as much of a surprise when he joined Virgin as it was with Timo Glock.
2009: GP2, 3rd
Andy Soucek Luiz Razia
The third driver role at Virgin will be shared in 2010 as the team look to develop young drivers. Spanish driver, Andy Soucek dominated the 2009 Formula Two Championship with 7 victories taking him to the title with almost twice the number of points of his nearest rival. Meanwhile, Brazilian Luiz Razia clinched the 2006 South American Formula 3 title before joining GP2.
THE TEAM Chairman: Richard Branson
Team Principal: John Booth
Chief Executive: Graeme Lowden
Director of Racing: Graeme Lowden
Sporting Director: John Booth
Technical Director: Nick Wirth
