4-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost has said that Fernando Alonso is the best driver in the sport and has praised the Spaniard for his teamwork since his return to the grid, following on from his third place at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Alpine driver ended a seven year wait for a spot on the podium on Sunday afternoon as he turned third on the grid into third in the race, stretching out his tyres just enough to make a one-stop strategy work ahead of a hard-charging Sergio Perez who finished fourth.

The car wasn't quick enough to compete with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen who finished one and two, but Prost feels that Alonso could certainly beat them with good enough equipment, after showing all of his skills over the weekend in Losail.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport in Qatar, the Frenchman said: "For me, he is the best driver in the field.

"The overview of the race he has is unbelievable, as is his feel for the tyres, the statements he makes about the car and how he feeds the engineers.

"Fernando has always told me that he has become a different person, and I have to say that he was right," he said.

"He is totally at the service of the team, and that is very good for the team."

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Alonso certainly seems to be driving Alpine on at the moment and now in his 40s he appears to have all the pace and race-craft he had before his couple of years away from the sport.

Give him a quick enough car to challenge for victories next season, and the Qatar podium could become a regular sight next year - that's a big ask for Alpine though.