Virgin to sell most of F1 team

UPDATE Speculating on what Russian group may be in the negotiations – This could also be Mikhail Aleshin, who clinched the World Series by Renault title last weekend at the last race in Barcelona. Aleshin is being backed by Gazprom, one of the largest energy companies in the world.

One of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games national partners is former Sauber Team sponsor MegaFon. This company might now be interested in (partially) owning a Formula One team.

Anton Nebylitskyi, another Russian driver and also driving in the World Series by Renault is being backed by the KMP Group. KMP Group, who is one of the largest Russian travel companies, has already invested into their own team in this series and might also have good cards in hand to buy themselves into Virgin Racing as well.

Last but not least: Virgin F1 has already got Russian backing from super sportscar builder Marussia. In this case Russian driver Daniil Move is in the running for an F1 seat. Move has also competed this year in the World Series by Renault series for the Lotus Junior Team.

10/14/10 According to AutoRacing1.com sources Virgin is in negotiations to sell the majority of its ownership in their F1 team to a Russian company. This ahead of an anticipated announcement that F1 will race in Russia starting to 2014. If our sources are correct, don't be surprised if Petrov, whose ride is on shaky ground at Renault, drives for them.