Massa signs fresh Ferrari contract

LONDON, England -- Brazilian Felipe Massa has signed a contract extension keeping him at Ferrari until 2010, ending speculation linking Fernando Alonso with a move to the Italian team.

Massa's deal comes just days before his home grand Prix at Interlagos -- the final race of a controversial season.

"Ferrari announces that it has extended its agreement with the driver Felipe Massa through to the end of the 2010 racing season," read a statement on the Ferrari Web site.

The 26-year-old is currently in fourth in the world drivers' championship with 86 points behind McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton (107) and Fernando Alonso (103) and Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen (100).

He is out of the title scrap, but can help Finn Raikkonen in his outside bid to snatch the crown.

Raikkonen won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai where Hamilton's chances of becoming the first rookie to capture the title were put in jeopardy as he ran off the track in slippery conditions.

It was the fifth win of the season for Raikkonen while Alonso and Hamilton have four each. If there is a tie, the number of victories and after that, the number of second places will be counted.

It was the first time this season that Hamilton failed to finish a race, but Alonso and Raikkonen acknowledged the young Brit remained the favorite to win the title.

"He has the capacity to do well in Brazil," Alonso said. "Everything is looking good for him.

"For the championship, I still need something dramatic to win. With a normal race it will be impossible."

Raikkonen would need even more unusual circumstances to clinch the title in Brazil, but was buoyed by victory in China.

"We just have to win the race and see what happens to the others," Raikkonen said.

Spaniard Alonso, chasing a title hat-trick, has been the subject of feverish speculation over his future since his public falling-out with McLaren boss Ron Dennis earlier this year.

Massa's new deal at the Scuderia looks to have firmly shut the door on the reigning two-time champion.

The Brazilian has been contracted to Ferrari since 2001 but was loaned out to the Sauber team for the 2002 and 2004-05 seasons.

He was handed the Ferrari race drive as team-mate to Michael Schumacher at the start of 2006, since when he has won five times. E-mail to a friend