Branson is expected to officially announce the deal on Tuesday

Manor GP are to be rebranded as Virgin Racing as one of four new teams in Formula 1 next season.

The news was effectively confirmed by motor sport's world governing body, the FIA, when they announced the 2010 F1 entry list on Monday.

Manor boss John Booth and Virgin chief Richard Branson are due to announce the sponsorship deal on Tuesday.

Virgin Racing join fellow newcomers Lotus F1 Racing, Campos Meta 1 and US F1 Team in a total of 12 teams.

German driver Timo Glock has already signed to be Manor's lead driver in 2010, while British company Wirth Research will design the cars.

Sauber, who are not on the list, are widely expected to be granted an additional place on next year's grid following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on 11 December.

606: DEBATE With around eight or maybe 10 drives available there should be plenty of new faces for 2010, maybe even an old German one Ernie Becclestone

Peter Sauber last week regained control of the team he sold to BMW four years ago after the German manufacturing giant's withdrawal from the sport.

The Formula 1 Commission is also set to discuss Toyota's fate next week, again in Monaco on Wednesday.

The Japanese manufacturer surprisingly pulled out of F1 at the end of last season, despite signing the new Concorde Agreement that bound them to the sport for the next three years.

Speculation has surfaced of late regarding a potential takeover, yet it is unclear whether a buyer would automatically be granted an entry on the basis of Toyota's signature on the Concorde.

2010 FIA Formula 1 world championship entry list

1 Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Brawn GP
4 TBC Brawn GP
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
6 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
7 Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
8 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Ferrari
9 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Williams-Cosworth
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth
11 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
12 TBC Renault
14 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (It) Force India-Mercedes
16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17 TBC Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18 TBC Lotus-Cosworth
19 TBC Lotus-Cosworth
20 TBC Campos Meta 1-Cosworth
21 Bruno Senna (Brz) Campos Meta 1-Cosworth
22 TBC US F1-Cosworth
23 TBC US F1-Cosworth
24 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin-Cosworth
25 TBCVirgin-Cosworth

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