Marussia continues to do deals

It may have taken the decision not to partake in this week's opening f1 group test at Jerez, but the Marussia F1 team continues to work away behind the scenes to ensure that its 2012 campaign is a step up on its first two seasons in the top flight.

Happy to wait until the second pre-season session in two weeks time before making its 2012 debut, the British-based operation has revealed a second commercial partnership of the winter, linking up with recruitment specialist Monster.com. The company's logo will be introduced into Marussia's 'trackside environment', which will include branding on the drivers' racesuits, from the test session later this month.

As its global online recruitment partner, Monster will work with the team to fill four highly specialised roles as part of a bespoke 'Cool Jobs' programme, sourcing qualified candidates from all over the world, while Marussia will also use Monster to fill up to 40 roles, drawing from talent throughout the EU, as well as utilising a range of Monster's products as part of the partnership.

"Monster is an exciting and much-welcomed addition to our portfolio of Marussia F1 Team official partners," team CEO Andy Webb commented, "F1 is a technology-driven sport, but you need the right people with the right talents to drive these processes. At this time, when we are looking to augment our expertise in key areas of the team, this partnership will enable us to reach a much wider scope of qualified candidates, leveraging Monster's global reach and its job matching technology."

The announcement comes at the end of a flurry of team launches that included references to new or returning sponsors, including two each at Lotus and Toro Rosso.

The former Renault F1 team has secured significant sponsorship from two Unilever brands since confirming its change of name ahead of the 2012 season. Rexona, a deodorant brand known under various alternative names around the world, and anti-dandruff shampoo brand Clear both appeared on the new E20-Renault that will be driven by Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean this season.

Toro Rosso, meanwhile, was able to reveal three extended deals, all of which began back in the 2011 season.

The Italian team unveiled its 2012 car at Jerez, trumpeting the involvement of both Nova Chemicals, Cespa and Falcon Private Bank. The deal with the former, a Canadian chemical and plastic resin manufacturer, continues a relationship that began at the race in Montreal last June, while Abu Dhabi-owned Cespa extended its deal despite reportedly being unhappy at the dropping of Jaime Alguersuari to make way for STR's all-new driver line-up. Still based in Spain, Cepsa's logos will feature on both drivers' racesuits, as well as the nose and rear wing of the new STR7, doing little to quell speculation that its owners could be potential investors, or even buyers, of the Faenza operation.

Falcon Private Bank, meanwhile, will see its logos appear on the front of the car and on the front wing endplates, as well as on the drivers' racesuits and team kit.