Friday 3 September at 10:01 : Sep.3 (GMM) The arrival in formula one of Swiss bank UBS is helping Williams in its search for a new major sponsor for 2011.

It recently emerged that the sport has sealed a sponsorship deal with UBS that will be launched in Singapore later this month.

The news was warmly welcomed by Adam Parr, chairman of the independent British team Williams who are preparing to lose major sponsor RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) at the end of the season.

"The signal that this will send is that other global players need to be looking at the fundamentals that F1 offers and not being influenced by 'political correctness'," he told Reuters.

The 'political correctness' comment is no doubt a referral to the global economic crisis, with former Renault backer ING being yet another bailed-out bank that pulled out of the sport.

Credit Suisse left F1 before the 2009 season.

"The bottom line is that formula one sells products and services and intelligent companies can see the opportunities it offers," insisted Parr.

Team owner Sir Frank Williams said he is confident a "pretty big" brand will replace the departing RBS signage on next year's car.

Asked how the search for a new sponsor was proceeding, he answered: "Very slow, but very busy.

"I wouldn't say there are an enormous number of leads, but there's a lot of talking going on between us and various companies.

"I think we will land something pretty big despite the difficulties," added Williams.