(ANSA) - Maranello, May 19 - As love affairs go, Ferrari's with Fernando Alonso has already lasted longer than many marriages. But despite some ups and downs, the passion is as strong as it was when Spain's two-time world champion joined the team in 2010, and both sides have agreed to a five-year contract extension that is sport's equivalent of ''till death us do part''.
''I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels like a second family to me,'' Alonso, 29, said after penning the new deal Thursday.''I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work at (Ferrari headquarters) 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 One career one day''.
The relationship was severely tested at the end of Alonso's first season with Ferrari.
The Spaniard missed out on last year's title because of a botched strategy in the last race that enabled Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to take the glory.
The start of the current campaign has also been disappointing, with Alonso fifth in the standings after four races and trailing championship leader Vettel by 52 points.
Nevertheless, both sides acknowledge they are two halves of a dream partnership and are in it for the long haul. Ferrari are the only team to have been in Formula One since it started in 1950 and none of their rivals can compete in terms of history, success and glamour.
Put simply, all the drivers want to race for them.
Alonso, who started his F1 career with Minardi in 2001, remains the sport's hottest property in many people's view despite Vettel's recent outstanding form.
He was the youngest driver to win the F1 championship when he beat all-time great Michael Schumacher to the 2005 crown as a Renault driver aged 24 - a record beaten last year by Vettel - before taking the title again in 2006.
His career stalled with an unhappy move to McLaren, where he had a fractious relationship with teammate Lewis Hamilton, and a return to a no-longer competitive Renault before he got back among the title contenders by joining Ferrari. ''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 has won five of the 23 grands prix he has raced so far with Ferrari, finishing 11 times on the podium, taking two pole positions and scoring 293 championship points.
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