After their stunning success in the 2009 season to date, the Brawn GP team are well on their way to becoming world champions in the Formula One championship, however, in doing so, the one man that helped them get started, Sir Richard Branson, may be left behind.

Branson and his Virgin brand stepped up to the [plate to help Brawn when they were struggling, just weeks into their life after a takeover by Ross Brawn and while his twenty million pound sponsorship has gone a very long way, Branson knows he has milked all he is going to from it and that next season, putting his name on a Brawn car will be too expensive.

“I suspect next year the price will be astronomical and we may have to look somewhere else with a smaller team,” he said in the Express. “We have most likely got the mileage we needed from it. Brawn’s value has gone from next to nothing to £50m a year and we are delighted for them. We were able to help out when they needed a good partner and it has been excellent for both of us.”