Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has suggested that Felipe Massa could make a return to the F1 cockpit before the end of the 2009 season.

With three races remaining, the Italian team has struggled to find a serious replacement for the Brazilian who was injured during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Luca Badoer, who stood in for Massa in Valencia and Belgium was off the pace having been out of F1 racing for ten years, while Giancarlo Fisichella is having difficulty getting to grips with the F60 and KERS.

Last week Massa announced that as part of his training and comeback programme he will contest the International Challenge of the Stars in November, however, Domenicali is hoping to see the Brazilian in a kart as early as next week ahead of a possible F1 return in time for the end of the season.

Asked, following yesterday's Singapore GP, if Massa might return to F1 this year, Domenicali said: "It is too early to say. He is working hard on training and next week he should begin his karting activity.

"I don't want to exclude anything," he continued, "but we need to be cautious. We need to see it step by step, and we don't have to anticipate anything. He will be back 100%, but there is no need to anticipate anything if there is something that is not ready. Every day he is doing a check with his doctor, but not an official medical check."

Currently, Ferrari is just 3 points ahead of McLaren as it struggles to hold on to third position in the Constructors' Championship, having picked up 22 points since Massa's accident while McLaren has secured 31.