Fernando Alonso is having so much fun at Ferrari that he decided to stay with the Scuderia until 2016 and practically end his career with them.
Even though Alonso never managed to repeat his world titles that he achieved with Renault and Flavio Briatore with any other team, he is considered as one of the top drivers and he occasionally shows it by winning a GP. Plus he does very well off the track, in commercials for the Fiat Group or other media events they set up for him. So it makes sense for Ferrari to keep such a handy guy! They’ve gone even further than the 3-year extension option which was in Alonso’s first contract and signed hi for another four years.
But this must be bad news for Felipe Massa. There has been rumors about him leaving Ferrari soon, and given the team’s poor performance and the need for a change, now that the Alonso is staying, Massa should be packing his bags. That said, Ferrari has not commented on Massa’s situation yet, and neither has the Brazilian driver.
“It is a great pleasure to have renewed our agreement with a driver who has always demonstrated a winning mentality even in the most difficult circumstances,” said Luca di Montezemolo. “Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon.”
“I am very happy to have reached this agreement,” comments Alonso. “I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family. I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work in Maranello and in those who lead them: it is therefore natural for me to decide to extend my relationship in the long term like this, with a team at which I will no doubt end my Formula 1 career one day.”