Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost has said that Fernando Alonso is now back as he was before he left the sport, having managed to get back up to speed in his Alpine car.

The Spaniard left the grid at the end of 2018 to go and pursue other motorsport-related goals but it was announced midway through 2020 that he'd be returning to Formula 1 for this season as Renault rebranded into Alpine.

Indeed, it was always going to be fascinating to see how he'd handle his return and, after a couple of races where results perhaps didn't go how he would have liked, he is looking very much back in tune with the way the sport works now.

Two points finishes in his last two races have seen him overhaul team-mate Esteban Ocon in the Drivers' standings and, on the back of another good weekend at the French GP, Alain Prost feels as though the Spaniard is fully in gear now with the sport once more, with him telling Autosport:

"I always remember when I stopped for what was really only six months in fact in '92, how difficult it was to come back. But we were testing every week, we were testing all time. So it was obvious that Fernando could not be at the top at the beginning. “It's a new car, new team, and also not driving F1 for two years. He had the target of the French GP more or less, saying ‘Okay, well, I need four or five races.'

"It's nothing special, it's a normal way. Now he's back, for sure."