Virgin Racing boss Alex Tai maintains that his team has no fear of F1 as they prepare for their first full season in the sport.
New team boss says they will bring "character" to Formula One
Virgin Racing boss Alex Tai maintains his team has no fear of the Formula One "Mafia" as they prepare for their first full season in the sport.
Having joined Brawn GP as a sponsor for the 2009 season, the company has wasted no time in upping its F1 involvement, with the confirmation coming before Christmas that Virgin has rebranded the new Manor GP team.
According to Tai, the experiences of Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson as he diversified the company from the record industry into air and subsequently rail travel have left them well versed in the underhand tactics that can be employed in the business world.
Both as a sport and as a business, F1 has a reputation for having at times only a nodding acquaintance with rules and ethics - something Tai believes his team can deal with should the need arise.
"There is a certain amount of mystique in Formula One, that it is this sort of Mafia that you're getting involved with," he explained.
Committed
"The Virgin brand has been in much more difficult circumstances in the past. When Richard started in the record industry, that's not the easiest industry.
"In the airline industry there were an incredible amount of dirty tricks, which have been well reported, that the Virgin brand had to stride through. Richard turned around British Rail into a fantastic rail franchise.
"These are all things that required an awful lot of determination. We have a certain amount of character that we bring to Formula One."
The 43-year-old added that Branson has not entered the sport on a whim, and is committed to F1 long term.
"The Virgin name is difficult to get. Richard needs to see a sound business plan, something that's sustainable," he added.
"We do not want to be coming into the sport and then coming out again in a year's time.
"We've had a very arduous process over the last six or seven months to earn our Virgin spurs, as it were. We've found ourselves in a situation where the business model actually does work and we believe we have sustainability."
