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Virgin can emulate Red Bull, says Branson

Sir Richard Branson thinks Virgin can challenge within five years © Sutton Images

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Sir Richard Branson thinks his fledgling Virgin Racing outfit can be realistic title contenders within five years.

Branson's optimism stems from the progress of Red Bull Racing, who went from start-up team after buying Jaguar Racing in 2005 to championship hopefuls by 2009.

"Look at Red Bull, who were ahead of Ferrari, which is fantastic, for all of their talk," said Branson. "One day, hopefully, Virgin will overtake Red Bull. You've got to start somewhere, and we have a couple of hundred people enjoying the challenge."

And he insisted Virgin Racing could even have an advantage over some of the bigger teams in the years ahead if budget restrictions come into play. "If the rules are adhered to and everyone comes within a £40million budget we're working to this year, in a couple of years' time we will know how to run a team at that level. The other teams will have to come down to that, so things will start equalling out.

"Yes, they'll still have quite a few more years under their belt, but we've a lot of guys with a lot of experience here. So we're hoping three to five years [to be challenging], rather than five years. Who is to know? But you have to aim for it."

Technical director Nick Wirth insists Branson is not being over-optimistic despite both cars failing to make it past 18 laps on debut in Bahrain. "I genuinely think it can be achieved," he said. "We've a very ambitious development programme going on. I wouldn't want to tell you how many seconds we're going to put on the car this year. Richard knows that, and it would be a record if we could achieve it, particularly within the budget.

"People talk about how much McLaren sped up last year, and we think we can do some fairly impressive things, despite this rigid budget we're working to, and progress from there. We're really proud and excited about taking this forward."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.