Brawn attracts new sponsors

When he arrived in Malaysia and turned on his mobile phone Nick Fry started receiving numerous calls from possible sponsors for Brawn GP. The former Honda took part in the Melbourne race with an all-white livery, apart from the Virgin sponsor - attracted by the team's great chances of victory - quickly signed a few hours before Saturday's qualifying and valid only for the first two races of the season.

Now a full sponsorship from Virgin is worth many millions of euros, and Fry admitted that other companies are also interested in joining Brawn.

The team's chief executive told the Times newspaper that many of the brands affected are British and were attracted by Brawn's connection to its Brackley headquarters. "People feel it's a British team and they want to bond with us," he said. "There is no doubt that Jenson's victory has done wonders for us. Apart from Virgin, we hope to have other sponsors on our car as soon as possible."

Andre' Cotta