Tuesday 22 July at 15:04 : World champion Kimi Raikkonen is on the cusp of signing a new two year extension to keep racing for Ferrari beyond the 2009 season, according to the widely circulated German newspaper Bild-Zeitung.

It was being speculated that Raikkonen, the 28-year-old Finn, was growing weary of the grand prix world and - despite his contract for next year - might even have gone into early retirement at the end of this season.

His teammate Felipe Massa has two and a half years left to run on his own agreement with the Maranello based team.

If confirmed, the Raikkonen news would deal a blow to the hopes of double world champion Fernando Alonso, who reportedly has a deal in place to race with Ferrari if a vacancy arises for 2009 or 2010.

"It does look as though the Spaniard will have to stay with Renault," former triple world champion Niki Lauda told the newspaper.