FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Jamie]

A potential problem for Brawn is that their car doesn't seem to work its tyres as well in cool conditions, and this is made doubly worse by Button's smooth driving style. If it rains or if many of the Grands Prix in the second half of the season are relatively cool, it could be squeaky-bum time for Brawn.

Germany is too unpredictable as Vettel said, it can be Tropical weather one day and snowing the next? Plus with the major climate change back here in the UK, i doubt very likely it's going to be a warm one!

[myownalias]

Getting back to Virgin/Brawn; Richard Branson is a very intelligent business man, he has invested in Brawn GP to improve his brand identity and he has gone on record as saying that his Virgin group had achieved what it wanted to achieve from the partnership. This is what business is about, I don't blame Branson for ditching Brawn especially with all the BS that is happening right now between FOTA and the FIA damaging the credibility of his company. I get the impression from Branson's comments that he doesn't like the idea of a breakaway series so that could be a reason why he is pulling his sponsorship as much as the money as Brawn are one of the breakaway teams. The fact that he had a meeting with Vijay Mallya indicates that he wants his sponsorship to remain in Formula 1, which could be a interesting glimpse into sponsorship deals for FOTA teams as many sponsors could well want to stay in F1, a world renowned brand unlike FOTA's championship with no pedigree or history, just a thought!

[Jamie]

Getting back to Virgin/Brawn; Richard Branson is a very intelligent business man, he has invested in Brawn GP to improve his brand identity and he has gone on record as saying that his Virgin group had achieved what it wanted to achieve from the partnership. This is what business is about, I don't blame Branson for ditching Brawn especially with all the BS that is happening right now between FOTA and the FIA damaging the credibility of his company. I get the impression from Branson's comments that he doesn't like the idea of a breakaway series so that could be a reason why he is pulling his sponsorship as much as the money as Brawn are one of the breakaway teams. The fact that he had a meeting with Vijay Mallya indicates that he wants his sponsorship to remain in Formula 1, which could be a interesting glimpse into sponsorship deals for FOTA teams as many sponsors could well want to stay in F1, a world renowned brand unlike FOTA's championship with no pedigree or history, just a thought!

It has not been established yet that Branson has ditched them yet

[myownalias]

Not for this year but next season it's almost a certainty; especially if Brawn are world champions Branson won't pay over the odds for a sponsorship deal; he has probably worked out the numbers and they simply don't add up. He isn't going to invest more than he will get back; £250k per race gives him a good ROI, £1m per race which is likely isn't going to give him a good return on investment. Branson can't afford to be frivolous with his money in the current financial climate.

[Jamie]

Not for this year but next season it's almost a certainty; especially if Brawn are world champions Branson won't pay over the odds for a sponsorship deal; he has probably worked out the numbers and they simply don't add up. He isn't going to invest more than he will get back; £250k per race gives him a good ROI, £1m per race which is likely isn't going to give him a good return on investment. Branson can't afford to be frivolous with his money in the current financial climate.

Other companies seem to be able too, but then if he goes? Brawn could have investors such as Google or Monster Energy! As we have seen them take an opportunity to sponsor JB this weekend

[darwin dali]

Getting back to Virgin/Brawn; Richard Branson is a very intelligent business man, he has invested in Brawn GP to improve his brand identity and he has gone on record as saying that his Virgin group had achieved what it wanted to achieve from the partnership. This is what business is about, I don't blame Branson for ditching Brawn especially with all the BS that is happening right now between FOTA and the FIA damaging the credibility of his company. I get the impression from Branson's comments that he doesn't like the idea of a breakaway series so that could be a reason why he is pulling his sponsorship as much as the money as Brawn are one of the breakaway teams. The fact that he had a meeting with Vijay Mallya indicates that he wants his sponsorship to remain in Formula 1, which could be a interesting glimpse into sponsorship deals for FOTA teams as many sponsors could well want to stay in F1, a world renowned brand unlike FOTA's championship with no pedigree or history, just a thought!

I wouldn't read too much into Branson's talk with Force India re. his preferences for or against FOTA's breakaway series (also see his comments at the end of his recent interview). Force India is simply way cheaper - that's what attracts him.

[myownalias]

Getting back to Virgin/Brawn; Richard Branson is a very intelligent business man, he has invested in Brawn GP to improve his brand identity and he has gone on record as saying that his Virgin group had achieved what it wanted to achieve from the partnership. This is what business is about, I don't blame Branson for ditching Brawn especially with all the BS that is happening right now between FOTA and the FIA damaging the credibility of his company. I get the impression from Branson's comments that he doesn't like the idea of a breakaway series so that could be a reason why he is pulling his sponsorship as much as the money as Brawn are one of the breakaway teams. The fact that he had a meeting with Vijay Mallya indicates that he wants his sponsorship to remain in Formula 1, which could be a interesting glimpse into sponsorship deals for FOTA teams as many sponsors could well want to stay in F1, a world renowned brand unlike FOTA's championship with no pedigree or history, just a thought!

I wouldn't read too much into Branson's talk with Force India re. his preferences for or against FOTA's breakaway series (also see his comments at the end of his recent interview). Force India is simply way cheaper - that's what attracts him.

As I said in my reply to VB it's a financial decision; the numbers don't add up to a profit for Branson. It was just a thought about about potential sponsors putting money into an untested series. Branson is a very intelligent man, he hasn't been foolish with his money hence why his Virgin group are in such good shape while other big corporates around them have fallen. The Brawn sponsorship deal represented good value for money for Branson and now it isn't so good value for money so he is investing his money elsewhere!

It's simple business sense!

[Jabberwocky]

I would imagine that a lot of sponsors are having the same doubts as Virgin are (I am no only on about Brawn here) What happens if there is a breakaway championship, are the sponsors sponsoring a team, or are they sponsoring an F1 team?

Would you give a team a load of money so you sticker is on there car, that might only be on BBC3 at 2am? That could be F1 or FOTA Championship, depending on which way the chips fall!