LONDON — Virgin may be ready to take over Formula One team Honda but only if the sport is ready to make major changes, boss Richard Branson said on Saturday.
The British businessman told BBC radio that although he loves Formula One, a lack of environmentally friendly technology and the high running costs could keep Virgin from entering the sport.
“Formula One should be championing new, cleaner technology and if we were to get involved we want to be sure that we could run our cars in a very short period of time on clean fuels, which would set an example to normal cars on the road,” Branson said.
Honda pulled out of F1 in December because of the high cost of running the team amid the global economic downturn. It is in negotiations with several potential buyers to sell the team in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 29, with Virgin reportedly one of the interested parties.
Branson would not confirm whether Virgin had entered into negotiations, but did lay out conditions.
“I think they need to organize Formula One so that the teams can actually make money instead of losing a lot of money, especially the smaller teams,” Branson said. “(F1 boss) Bernie Ecclestone recognizes that.”
F1 has introduced sweeping regulation and cost-cutting changes for this season and governing body FIA wants to go even further in 2010 by introducing a team budget cap that would not exceed $64 million.
Such measures could appeal to Branson who said the sport needs to be “less cash-hungry going forward” with rule changes necessary “to make it economically viable in these tough times.”
The global appeal of the sport would also appeal to Virgin, a worldwide brand involved in telecommunications and travel. Virgin previously sponsored F1 team Jordan in 2002.
“I love F1,” Branson said. “One day, you never know, we might see a Virgin car on the circuit.”
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