Virgin not ready to confirm Brawn split

Sir Richard Branson is still not ready to confirm his plans for the Virgin brand's ongoing involvement in Formula One next year.

The British billionaire's $400,000 per race arrangement with Brawn GP this year was extremely successful.

But with the success of the Brackley based team pushing the price much higher, it is widely believed that Branson is set to switch his allegiance to the new Manor outfit, with a sweeping new collaboration involving the transfer of equity and even naming rights.

But speaking with BBC's Radio 5 Live on Wednesday, the 59-year-old said he is not ready to confirm Virgin's plans for F1 in 2010.

"We will make a decision after Abu Dhabi, which is the final race of the season," he said.

Branson however pointed out that the conditions in which Virgin chose to become involved with Brawn are no longer present, but suggested that the time is not right to announce a split.

"Virgin loves to support an underdog but they are now one of the most expensive teams out there and certainly not underdogs anymore," he insisted.

"We will make an announcement in the next month but at the moment we just want to celebrate a magnificent season with the Brawn team."