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Fernando Alonso will stay at Ferrari at least until the 2016 season after extending his contract with the Italian squad.

The Spanish two-time world champion joined the Maranello outfit last year and admitted he would like to end his career at Ferrari.

Alonso had originially signed a deal to stay at the team until the end of the 2012 season.

The Spaniard finished in second place in the championship in his first season with the team last year.

"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 Ferrari `president 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."

Alonso added: "I am very happy to have reached this agreement. 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."