Felipe Massa was yesterday handed a new two-year deal by Ferrari that will keep him at the team until the end of 2012. "I am happy to be given the opportunity to drive for Ferrari for a further two seasons," the 29-year-old Brazilian said in a statement ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix. "Throughout my entire Formula One career I have always raced with an engine made in Maranello [the Italian town which is home of the Ferrari factory] and it is a matter of pride for me to be able to continue working with a team I regard as a second family."
Massa began the season with a question mark over his future after he suffered serious injuries at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. He was hit on the helmet by bouncing debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's BrawnGP car in a freak accident in qualifying last July. Championship runner-up by a single point to Britain's Lewis Hamilton in 2008, Massa missed the final eight races of last season but has come back determined to show he has lost none of his pace.
"Felipe has been part of Ferrari for almost a decade and together with us, he has grown as a driver and a man, going through some very difficult times as well as giving us moments of great happiness," Stefano Domenicali, the team principal, said. "We wanted to show proof of stability for the future, believing in the worth of a driver pairing that is without equal in terms of talent, speed and its ability to work together for the good of the team."
Massa has been under contract to Ferrari since 2001 although he raced for the Ferrari-engined Sauber team in 2002, 2004 and 2005. He has started 69 races for the Italian team, with 11 wins, 15 pole positions and 30 podium placings. With double world champion Fernando Alonso joining this year on a three-year deal from Renault, Ferrari have now nailed down a long-term line-up that effectively freezes the driver market.
Massa's position was the sole possible vacancy among the leading four teams. * Reuters