Alonso wants Massa to stay with Ferrari

Fernando Alonso wants Felipe Massa to remain as his Ferrari team-mate next season.

Massa is out of contract with Ferrari at the turn of the year and a number of drivers have been linked with replacing him throughout the past twelve months.

But one by one, they have all agreed deals with either their current teams or agreed deals with other rival teams in the paddock.

Jenson Button signed a new deal with McLaren, while Mark Webber signed a new contract with Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has recently agreed a shock move to Mercedes, whilst Sergio Perez has replaced Hamilton at McLaren.

It doesn't leave Ferrari with too many options, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has previously stated that he wants a driver with experience and clearly stated that Ferrari development driver Perez wasn't ready for a Ferrari switch.

Two options according to various reports, could be Force India duo Nico Hulkenburg and Paul di Resta.

Sources in the paddock suggest that Nico Hulkenburg may well have already tied up a deal to move to Ferrari for next season, although it seems unlikely when you consider that 25-year-old Hulkenburg has actually only started two races more than 22-year-old Perez. Whilst Force India team-mate di Resta at 26-years-old has also only started 33 races.

Both drivers have shown promise in mid-pack cars, but Alonso doesn't believe that either driver have shown enough to displace Massa, who has 11 race wins on his cv and very nearly clinched the Formula One drivers title in 2008.

'In my opinion we need to have a driver that respect Ferrari and the tradition of this team and that we work for the team and the red cars. This is the first priority. Alonso told the BBC.

'And second I have been working with Felipe three years now and [we have] a good relationship. If the team decide to change Felipe, whoever [comes in] has to be better than Felipe.

'And of the names that have been written I don't know if they have been written with the head or the heart. I don't know if you [can] compare what Felipe did in F1 with what they did…'

Obviously Alonso's comments will be taken very seriously amongst the Ferrari hierarchy, as has always been the case amongst the Italian set-up, Ferrari always have a clear number one driver and the team has been built around Alonso. He even reportedly holds a veto on who can become his team-mate at Ferrari, which if the case, could be what ultimately decides Massa's future.