From GMM

Shortly before Saturday morning practice, Sir Richard Branson announced the Virgin brand's "substantial sponsorship" of the Brawn team.

The flamboyant British billionaire had cut short a skiing holiday to fly to Melbourne for the announcement.

He admitted that the BGP001 car's blank livery is to be mainly unchanged at Albert Park, but said the single seater is "unlikely to stay white" once the cars can be branded to reflect his investment.

There will be some Virgin branding on the car for qualifying and the race, however.

"We did this deal four hours before I got on a flight to come here, so unfortunately I was unable to get enough paint on-board," he joked to reporters at the circuit after the announcement.

The British billionaire told selected journalists at Albert Park that the announcement was just the first part of the new Brawn collaboration.

"I think, even in the next three to four weeks, we would all like to see this develop into a more complete relationship. We will have to see," Branson said.

The first step - perhaps after next weekend's Malaysian grand prix - will be obtaining permission for a substantially new livery.

Slightly beyond that, applications for a name change - requiring the agreement of all the teams - are likely, and it is rumoured that some equity may also change hands.

"That (the name) may well change, but we have to see what happens," said Branson, who may attend a few more races this season.

In the past, Virgin has been courted vigorously by F1 figures including Adrian Reynard and Eddie Jordan, so Branson was visibly delighted with his timing when Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello dominated qualifying on Saturday.

"I'm a lucky bastard!" he grinned in conversation with the British broadcaster BBC.