Days after the Malaysian team dropped Jarno Trulli in favour of Vitaly Petrov it has signed a deal with SIBUR, the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe.

"We are delighted to welcome SIBUR into our team and to help them continue their relationship in F1 with Vitaly, and now with Caterham," said Tony Fernandes. "F1 is a truly global sport, and SIBUR's investment in our sport is proof of the value F1 can bring, on a national and international level, so we are looking forward to working closely with Mr Konov and his team at SIBUR to help them realize maximum benefit from this partnership."

"I'm very glad that Vitaly's career in Formula One is continuing with such an exciting new role at Caterham," added Dmitry Konov, CEO of SIBUR. "Vitaly plays a very important role for us, and all Russians. Formula One mixes cutting edge technology and the highest level of competition, and these are concepts SIBUR understands very well. We understand how big a challenge it is to succeed in such an intense environment, and to maintain mastery of the conditions whilst always being at the very forefront of technical progress. That is why we are glad to give Vitaly and Caterham F1 Team our support. It is a real pleasure for us to continue our partnership in 2012, when Russia - thanks to Petrov as well - takes another step closer to Formula One.