=== Ferrari extends Massa's contract for one more year ===
 
 Maranello,  Italy (Sports Network) - Speculation of Felipe Massa's future with
 Ferrari in Formula One has been put to rest, at least for one more year.
 
 Ferrari  revealed  on Tuesday that Massa's  contract with the Italian team has
 been  renewed until the  end of the 2013 season. Massa, 31, has driven for the
 team  since the  start of the 2006  season. Prior to that, the Brazilian drove
 for Sauber, which receives engine support from Ferrari, for two years.
 
 "I  am very  happy to  have  reached this  agreement,"  Massa said  in a  team
 statement.  "Ferrari  is my  racing family,  and throughout  my entire time in
 Formula  1, I have always driven cars powered by engines built in Maranello. I
 can't see myself driving cars propelled by anything else."
 
 Massa finished only one point behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton for the F1 world
 championship in 2008. In the following year, Massa's season was curtailed when
 he  sustained  multiple head injuries  during a high-speed qualifying crash in
 the  Hungarian Grand  Prix. He scored six victories during the '08 season, but
 has not won a grand prix since then.
 
 Massa  had been  on the hot seat  at Ferrari this year after struggling during
 the  2010 and  '11 seasons. But Massa has significantly improved in the second
 half of this season. His second-place finish in the Oct. 7 Japanese Grand Prix
 was  his first podium appearance in two years. He also finished fourth in last
 month's race in Italy and this past Sunday's event in Korea.
 
 "We  are  pleased to have extended  our relationship with Felipe for a further
 year," team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "He has been part of our family
 for over a decade and has shown, especially in this recent part of the season,
 that  he  is once  again competitive  at the  highest level,  which is what is
 expected of every driver who gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
 
 "We  have  always supported Felipe, even  in the most difficult moments of his
 career, and we are certain of his worth and are sure he will know how to repay
 the confidence this renewal proves we have in him."
 
 Massa is currently ninth in the championship standings. His teammate, Fernando
 Alonso,  is in  a  tight points  battle with  two-time  defending F1  champion
 Sebastian  Vettel from  Red Bull. Alonso trails Vettel by six points with four
 races left on this year's schedule.
 
 
 
 10/16 13:49:36 ET

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