November 21 (Reuters)-Fernando Alonso was worried that he might never stand on the Formula One podium again until the first Qatar Grand Prix ended a record seven-year wait on Sunday. And saw that the double world champion was hailed as the best driver of the day.

The 40-year-old Spaniard finished third at the Losell circuit in the Alps owned by Renault to end his comeback season two years later.

The last time Alonso stood on the podium was runner-up in Hungary as a Ferrari driver in 2014. 105 consecutive podium races are the longest gap in the sport so far.

To put the wait in perspective, the last time fans saw Alonso on the podium was before Red Bull’s current 24-year-old champion Max Verstappen (ranked second on Sunday) made his Formula One debut.

"Finally. We got very close a few times and I just want to know if I will be on the podium again in my career," Alonso said. "You never know what will happen next year.

"I'm glad we accepted this, let's see if we can maintain this momentum next year."

Alonso won his title at Renault in 2005 and 2006, and won 32 victories-which made him sixth in the history list-the last time was in 2013, when he was at Ferrari Runner-up in the convoy.

He moved to McLaren in 2015, and the partnership with Honda turned into a nightmare, and he left at the end of 2018-winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and participating in the Dakar Rally and Indianapolis S 500 endurance race.

This year, he was rejuvenated in the renamed Renault team and returned to F1.

Although French teammate Esteban Ocon achieved an unexpected victory in Hungary in August, Alonso's fourth game in the same game was his best performance so far this season.

After Verstappen sent off five places on the grid, he started to finish third on Sunday, while Mercedes' Valtery Bottas dropped three points from third.

Alonso had a strong start, taking second place from AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, then giving way to Verstappen, then dropping to fourth place until Red Bull's Sergio Perez He pitted, he was not out.

A virtual safety car relieved the anxiety of tire wear in the later stage.

"Seven years, but we finally did it," he said before celebrating with former McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is now Mercedes' seven-time world champion and won the 102nd game of his career. victory. "I have waited so long. I'm very happy."

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