Virgin Racing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Virgin

Full name	Virgin Racing (2010) Marussia Virgin Racing (2011)
Base	Dinnington, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Noted staff	John Booth Richard Branson Nikolai Fomenko Graeme Lowdon Pat Symonds Mark Hendy Alex Tai Etienne de Villiers Nick Wirth
Noted drivers	Jérôme d'Ambrosio Lucas di Grassi Timo Glock
Next name	Marussia F1 Team
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Races entered	38
Engines	Cosworth
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Podiums	0
Points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Final entry	2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

Virgin Racing was a Formula One racing team. It was managed by Manor Motorsport, Wirth Research, and Richard Branson's Virgin Group. The team raced in 2010 with a British licence and in 2011 with a Russian licence. They did not score any points and finished last in the Constructors' Championship in both years.

The team was one of four new teams allowed to join for the 2010 season. It was first called Manor Grand Prix. Then, Virgin bought a share and naming rights, and the team became Virgin Racing. Their first car, the Virgin VR-01, was special. It was the first Formula One car designed only using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This is a computer method, not a wind tunnel. Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi were the drivers.

At the end of 2010, Marussia Motors bought a part of the team. They became the main sponsor, and the team was called Marussia Virgin Racing. The partnership with Wirth Research ended in 2011. A new team was set up to design cars in-house for 2012. Marussia Virgin Racing changed its name to Marussia F1 Team at the end of 2011. The team kept its main base in Dinnington, South Yorkshire. They also set up a new technical base in Banbury to build the race cars.

Team History

How the Team Started

In February 2009, Richard Branson's Virgin was interested in buying the former Honda Racing F1 Team. Branson said he liked Formula One. But he felt the sport needed to be more affordable and eco-friendly. Virgin later sponsored the new Brawn GP team in 2009.

The team began as Manor Grand Prix. It was a partnership between Manor Motorsport and Wirth Research. Alex Tai was first named team principal. Graeme Lowdon was director of racing. John Booth, from Manor Motorsport, became sporting director. Former Simtek team owner Nick Wirth was the technical director.

At the end of 2009, Mercedes-Benz bought Brawn GP. Branson then invested in Manor Grand Prix, buying 80% of the team. The team was renamed Virgin Racing. Soon after, Alex Tai left his role. John Booth became the team principal, and Graeme Lowdon became the CEO.

Virgin Racing worked as a three-part team. Manor Motorsport ran the cars. Wirth Research designed them. Virgin handled the business side. Car preparation happened at their base in Dinnington, South Yorkshire. Wirth Research designed the Virgin VR-01 from its base in Bicester. They later moved to bigger offices in Banbury.

In 2010, Virgin Racing had the lowest budget of all the teams, about £40 million. Branson believed that money was not everything. He thought they could succeed with good engineering, great drivers, and public support. The team also planned to create a driver academy. This would help young drivers move from GP3 Series up to Formula One.

The 2010 Racing Season

Getting Ready for 2010

On November 17, 2009, the team announced that Timo Glock would be their main driver for 2010. Glock chose Virgin because he was guaranteed a spot, even if the car was not the fastest. He signed for two years. Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi joined him. Di Grassi reportedly brought £5 million in sponsorship to the team.

Technical director Nick Wirth decided to design the car using only CFD. This meant no wind tunnel was used for aerodynamics. The Virgin VR-01 car was officially shown on February 3, 2010. It passed its safety tests and had its first run at Silverstone. During testing, the car had some problems, like a front wing failure and hydraulic issues. These problems caused the team to lose valuable track time.

First Races of 2010

At the first race in Bahrain, both Virgin cars had mechanical issues. Di Grassi retired early due to hydraulics. Glock also retired because of gear problems. Although the VR-01 seemed fast, the rival Lotus cars finished the race. This was important for the championship standings later.

It was reported that the VR-01's fuel tank was too small. This meant the car might not finish races at full speed. For the Australian Grand Prix, Virgin Racing got permission to change the fuel tank size. A new chassis with a larger tank was planned for the Spanish Grand Prix. Both cars started from the pit lane in Australia. Di Grassi retired with hydraulic issues, and Glock retired due to a loose suspension part. Virgin still had not finished a race.

In Malaysia, di Grassi finished 14th. This was Virgin's first ever finish in Formula One.

For the Spanish Grand Prix, Virgin brought a longer chassis. This new design had a bigger fuel tank. However, due to the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, only one new chassis made it to Barcelona. Glock used it. Both drivers finished the race, marking Virgin's first double finish.

At the British Grand Prix, Virgin brought a big update to the car. They qualified well, but di Grassi retired with hydraulic failure. Glock finished the race, close to the Lotus cars.

Di Grassi's feedback was good, but his speed compared to Glock was a concern. So, Jérôme d'Ambrosio became the new Virgin reserve driver. He drove di Grassi's car in a practice session in Singapore.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, di Grassi crashed on his way to the starting grid. Glock finished 14th, ahead of the Hispania cars.

In Korea, di Grassi crashed while trying to overtake. Glock was heading for 12th place. This would have moved Virgin up in the championship. But another driver crashed into Glock, forcing him to retire. This ended Virgin's chance of finishing 10th in the constructors' championship.

At the final race in Abu Dhabi, di Grassi finished 18th. Hispania had finished 15th in earlier races. This meant Hispania finished ahead of Virgin in the constructors' championship. This happened even though Virgin often had a faster car.

On November 11, 2010, Marussia bought a controlling share in the team. This secured the team's future until 2014. Marussia announced the team would race with a Russian licence in 2011. This was a big financial boost for the team.

The Stewardess Bet

On December 16, 2009, Tony Fernandes, owner of the Lotus team, made a bet with Richard Branson. The losing team's boss would work as a stewardess on the winner's airline for a day. Fernandes won the bet. Branson finally honored the bet on May 13, 2013. He dressed as a flight attendant on an AirAsia flight.

The 2011 Racing Season

The Virgin MVR-02 car for 2011 also used only CFD for its design. It did not use KERS. The team focused on improving the car's hydraulics and gearbox. These parts had caused many problems in 2010. The MVR-02 was designed to be the same length as the original VR-01. It still had a full-size fuel tank. The car's nose looked like the Marussia B2 road car.

Jérôme d'Ambrosio replaced Lucas di Grassi as Timo Glock's teammate for the 2011 season.

2011 Race Performance

Virgin first raced the MVR-02 at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. Both Glock and d'Ambrosio qualified at the back of the grid. Glock had a mechanical failure during the race and was not classified. D'Ambrosio finished 14th after other cars were disqualified.

At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Virgin again qualified at the back. D'Ambrosio retired due to electronic problems. Glock finished 16th, his first classified finish of the season.

For the Turkish Grand Prix, the team brought their first car upgrade. Glock got an "extreme" update. D'Ambrosio had to wait until the Spanish Grand Prix. D'Ambrosio was faster than Glock that weekend. Glock did not race due to a mechanical fault. D'Ambrosio finished 20th.

In June 2011, the team ended its partnership with Wirth Research. This happened after a review found that the CFD-only design was not working as expected. They then partnered with McLaren Applied Technologies for the 2012 season.

In Germany, the cars qualified 20th and 22nd. Glock finished 17th and d'Ambrosio 18th. Glock announced he would stay with the team until 2014. In Hungary, the cars finished 17th and 19th.

The Italian Grand Prix was disappointing. D'Ambrosio had a gearbox failure on lap 1. Glock finished 15th, which was one of the team's best results that year.

At the first ever Indian Grand Prix, the cars set the slowest times in qualifying. Glock was allowed to start the race because he was fast in practice. Glock retired early after another car crashed into him. D'Ambrosio finished 16th.

In November 2011, Virgin asked to change their team name for 2012 from Virgin to Marussia. This was to show their new ownership. Permission was granted. On December 31, 2011, Marussia Virgin Racing announced they were now called Marussia F1 Team. Virgin said they would still be with the team, and their logos would be on the 2012 car.

Team Sponsors

Timo Glock's VR-01 car on display at a partner's office.

Virgin bought 20% of the team as part of a sponsorship deal. The official list for 2010 showed Manor GP entered as Virgin Racing. The team's partners for 2010 included Bridgestone (tyres), UST Global (IT services), Carbon Green (environmental tech), Clear (shampoo), CSC (IT), FxPro (foreign exchange), Kappa (clothing), Oxygen investment group, and Marussia (Russian sports cars).

On December 14, 2009, Lloyds Banking Group invested £10 million in the team. This was unusual, as many financial companies were stopping their sponsorships. On May 7, 2010, Virgin Racing also announced a sponsorship deal with Full Tilt Poker.

Partnerships

Since it started, the team partnered with Russian car maker Marussia and QNet from 2010. On November 11, 2010, Marussia bought a controlling share in the team. This secured the team's future until 2014. Marussia announced the team would race with a Russian licence in 2011. This was a big financial boost and helped promote Formula One in Russia. The team also said their computational fluid dynamics (CFD) facility would be upgraded.

Jérôme d'Ambrosio became Timo Glock's teammate for the 2011 season. After a tough start to the season, the team ended its partnership with Wirth Research. The team kept Pat Symonds as a technical consultant. The team stopped using only CFD for car design. They signed an agreement with McLaren to use their technical facilities, simulators, and wind tunnel.

Formula One Race Results

(key) (results in bold mean pole position; races in italics mean fastest lap)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Points	WCC
2010	VR-01	Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8	B		BHR	AUS	MAL	CHN	ESP	MON	TUR	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	BRA	ABU	0	12th
				Timo Glock	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	18	Ret	18	Ret	19	19	18	16	18	17	Ret	14	Ret	20	Ret
				Lucas di Grassi	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	19	Ret	19	19	17	Ret	Ret	18	17	20†	15	DNS	Ret	NC	18
2011	MVR-02	Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8	P		AUS	MAL	CHN	TUR	ESP	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU	BRA	0	12th
				Timo Glock	NC	16	21	DNS	19	Ret	15	21	16	17	17	18	15	Ret	20	18	Ret	19	Ret
				Jérôme d'Ambrosio	14	Ret	20	20	20	15	14	22	17	18	19	17	Ret	18	21	20	16	Ret	19

Images for kids

• 

  Timo Glock testing the Virgin VR-01 during pre-season testing in Jerez, in February 2010.

• 

  The Marussia sponsored team logo used during the 2011 season.

See also

In Spanish: Virgin Racing para niños