Rosberg: Alonso's comeback reminds me of Schumacher

In contrast, Alonso's comeback after his two years of successful other motorsports adventures has been relatively subdued as the Spaniard has not hit the ground running and finding F1 is a different kettle of fish to anything else in motor racing.

The double F1 World Champion admitted to Speedweek: "My comeback is more difficult than expected. I still can't get the most out of the car. At first, I thought that four Grand Prix weekends should be enough, but now I think it will take eight or nine."

Earlier in the year, he said: “The question of my age is repeated, but I'm not that old either, so I'm a bit surprised that this question keeps cropping up.

"It's not like the world champion, the man who dominates everything, is so much younger, he's 35 or 36 years old himself. I'm not 20 years older than him," said Alonso in reference to Lewis Hamilton.

But, after five rounds, reality bites as this season he has only five points to his name and has largely been outshone by Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon who has more than double the Spaniard's score thus far.

2016 F1 World Champion Rosberg, who was Schumacher's teammate at Mercedes from 2010 to 2012, sees similarities in the comebacks of both great drivers, both multiple world champions.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Rosberg pointed out: "The Alpine is not an easy car to drive and Alonso seems to be having a hard time with it. Now and then we see th0se flashes of genius from Fernando, which reminds me a little of Michael Schumacher when I was his teammate at Mercedes when he came back to F1.

"In the end, it has to do with age. Fernando has not been in F1 for two years and it will be a while before he is completely at the level he was again."

In a Beyond the Grid podcast, Rosberg explained: “I saw Schumacher less as a mentor and more as an extreme rival, that brought a whole different dynamic. When he made his comeback, he was no longer in his prime but you could still see flashes of his driving genius when he had good days. It was still phenomenal but no longer consistent."

If Alonso needs and inspiration, he need look only at his past weekend which was remarkable for veteran racing drivers, as 46-year-old Helio Castroneves tapped into his huge experience to win the 2021 Indy 500 on Sunday, suggesting there is a longer life for veterans at the peak of the sport.