Rosberg's admiration for an on-fire Alonso: 'He is really one of the best of all time'

Former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg praised Alpine's veteran diver Fernando Alonso for his amazing performance during the Canadian Grand Prix.

Rosberg added that Alonso only had himself to blame for not being more successful in his F1 career and not claiming more world championships than the two he won.

In 2005 and 2006, Alonso won his two F1 world titles while driving for Renault, and now despite being 40-years-old, he continues to drive at a spectacular level. In wet conditions in Montreal last week, he qualified second behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

A big fan

In an interview with Sky Sports F1's 'Any Driven Monday', Rosberg could not get over Alonso's unbelievable performance at 40 and 16 years after winning his last F1 world title.

"Ten years older than when I retired, that's pretty crazy! I'm a big fan of Alonso at the moment because I just find it so exciting to see. We all know that he is, talent and skill-wise, one of the best of all time," said the 36-year-old Rosberg.

"[Esteban] Ocon is a very good driver, and Alonso in Montreal was a million miles ahead of him throughout the whole weekend in terms of performance. So it's amazing."

Alonso has spells at Ferrari (2010-2014) and McLaren (2015-2019) but failed to get a third title, but Rosberg feels there are specific reasons for his failure.

"He sometimes lacked social competence, and then he often had difficulties being in the best teams with the best cars because they didn't really want him anymore because of burning some bridges in the past," said Rosberg.

"That was one of the weaknesses in his career in terms of getting even better results. But in terms of the talent, he is really one of the best of all time, or right up there, and that is why it is so brilliant