» Alonso re-signs with Ferrari until 2016

Fernando Alonso has extended his contract with Ferrari until the end of the 2016 season, the Italian team has announced today.

Timed to coincide with the Spaniard’s home race, the move effectively ensures that Alonso – who has made it clear he does not expect to remain in F1 past his mid-thirties – will retire from the sport as a Ferrari driver.

“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,” Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was quoted as saying in a team press release.

Describing Ferrari as being “like a second family”, Alonso added: “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.”

[Image via LAT]