Massa signs with Ferrari until 2012

(AFP/ GETTY IMAGES)

Felipe Massa has signed a two-year contract extension with Ferrari which will see the Brazilian remain at the team until the end of the 2012 season. Massa has driven for Ferrari since 2006, famously missing out on the championship by a single point to Lewis Hamilton two years later.

The 29-year-old suffered a near-fatal crash in Hungary last year but made his return to racing this season and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. Massa's team-mate Fernando Alonso is already under contract until 2012.

"I am happy to be given the opportunity to drive for Ferrari for a further two seasons," Massa said in a statement. "Throughout my Formula One career, I have always raced with an engine made in Maranello and it is a matter of pride for me to be able to continue working with a team that I regard as a second family."

Massa, who signed for Ferrari in 2001 before being farmed out for two stints at Sauber, had been widely expected to leave the team at the end of the season, with Renault's Robert Kubica in the frame to take his seat.

"Felipe has been part of Ferrari for almost a decade and together with us, he has grown as a driver and as a man, going through some very difficult times as well as giving us moments of great happiness," said Ferrari team manager Stefano Domenicali. Massa has won 11 out of 69 grands prix for the Italian team, while also amassing 30 podium finishes.