Marussia Virgin Racing has become the third team to apply for a name change next season, after officially lodging a request to revise its chassis name to Marussia.
With Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP both looking to change their titles next year, Virgin Racing has now lodged a request with the Formula 1 Commission to switch its name to its Russian sports car manufacturer partner.
Marussia joined the squad as a sponsor last season, but for this year took on a much larger role with the team as well as title sponsorship. Wanting to enhance its relationship further, the team now wants to become known simply as Marussia. The change requires the support from 18 members of the 26-strong F1 Commission.
Despite the Virgin name no longer being part of the official team name, the company will still remain a partner for the foreseeable future. Plans call for the Virgin logos to still feature prominently on the car, and Richard Branson's group of companies will continue to work with the team on future projects.
Team Lotus has applied to change its name to Caterham, while the former works Renault squad plans to become known as Lotus.