Mar.21 (GMM) Timo Glock has admitted "it would be nice" if Sir Richard Branson ploughed some more money into the team that bares his famous company's name.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has been a critic of Virgin Racing following its difficult debut in 2010, denouncing it recently as "a nickel and dime operation".

Virgin is admittedly running on a small budget and has vowed to design its cars without a wind tunnel, and currently the MVR-02 car looks destined for the rear of the grid.

Glock, who revealed recently that the 2011 car has an aero problem and is a second off the pace of nearest rival Lotus, was asked by Frankfurter Rundschau if a comparison between fellow billionaires Branson and Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz is fair.

"Red Bull has been in formula one a few years more," answered the German, "and I don't know what Mateschitz invested in the second year of his team.

"The name of Richard Branson is attractive for sponsors," continued Glock, "and of course it would be nice if he would invest some more in the team.

"But he has his plan," added the 28-year-old.

Glock does approve of the latest development at Virgin Racing; the return of banned crashgate conspirator Pat Symonds to F1 in a consultancy role.

He said the veteran Briton is "one of the most experienced people in F1", but famous triple world champion Niki Lauda is not convinced about Virgin's potential.

"It didn't work for them as recently as 2010, so why should it be better now?" he told Speed Week.

"It's a pity for Timo Glock, who is a good man who deserves a good team," added Lauda.

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