The recent report that Virgin has bought a stake in the Manor F1 team is the latest in a series of strange manoeuvres which the company has pulled off in the sport.

Even before Virgin joined F1 as a sponsor just before this year's season-opening Australian Grand Prix it had made waves. Its colourful boss Richard Branson usually has his head screwed on but not, it seems, when it comes to F1. "I love Grand Prix" said Branson in February adding "if Bernie Ecclestone can make it more cost-effective for the likes of the Virgin brand to come into the sport, and if he can champion clean motor car racing - which is possible to do by making sure all the cars run on clean fuels - then at some stage we might be interested in getting involved."

It seemed Branson had already been hoodwinked by F1's unusual operating structure because otherwise he would have known that Ecclestone has no power to introduce clean fuels or cost cutting measures to F1.

Then Virgin was met with even more scepticism when no sooner had it joined the sport as a sponsor of Brawn than Branson was again beating his own drum. "We have invested quite a considerable sum of money in a company called Gevo," said Branson explaining that it has "come up with a fuel for F1, maybe called the Virgin Fuel, that is clean, that doesn't emit any carbon and can perform as well as the dirty fuels that are used in cars to date...Over the next few months we will be trying to talk to F1 and see if we can have this fuel introduced as the fuel that F1 uses." By now it seems even Ecclestone was getting tired.

Ecclestone told the London Evening Standard newspaper that he doubted F1's governing body, the FIA, would let Branson have his way because introducing this biofuel "probably means that all the engines would have to be thrown away." Hardly a green or cost-effective outcome.

"It'd be a good idea for him to put it in his aeroplanes for sure," said Ecclestone, adding that instead of using it in F1, Branson would be better off introducing biofuel to a racing series with vehicles which are more akin to road cars.

After a few races there were strange developments regarding Virgin's sponsorship itself. It started to change the emblem on some of its logos on the car - a big no-no given that consistency is king when it comes to quality of exposure. Then Branson reportedly turned up at the British GP as a guest of Brawn's closest rival, Red Bull. That's what you might call a slap in the face.

Now we have the latest developments regarding Virgin's alleged investment in Manor. According to a leaked email, stakes in Manor are being touted for sale by the FIA president's representative Alan Donnelly, but more surprisingly, the message is signed off 'God Bless' despite seeming to be written to an Arab royal. Virgin gets a mention in this shocking email - something which the media-friendly Branson should surely not be too pleased about. Then again, it seems Branson has placed his chips with Manor and that in itself could prove to be the crowning glory of Virgin's strange F1 decisions.

Not only could Manor get ejected from F1 if the 2010 selection process has to be carried out again due to Donnelly's alleged involvement with the team, but it could even fail to get to the grid due to the unclear regulations for next year.

Manor boss John Booth recently admitted "we had never even thought about Formula One, it wasn't even a dream. But the opportunity arose because of the FIA's cost cap, which has made F1 achievable for a non manufacturer for the first time in many years."

That would be the cost cap which is no longer being introduced to F1. Booth and Virgin must be made for each other.