Why has Fernando Alonso gone so long without F1 success?

The two-time World Champion (although, with eight extra points combined over three seasons, we'd be talking about a five-time champion, but that's immaterial), heads back home to Spain at the weekend knowing that almost a decade has passed since his 32nd and most recent Formula 1 race win, at the same venue.

But with Alonso, there still feels like there's a lingering sense of what might have been for the Spaniard - despite the success.

It's not like he lost his competitive edge in that time, either.

McLaren's former No. 1 mechanic has claimed team staff were "squabbling" about wanting to work on Fernando Alonso's car in 2007, instead of Lewis Hamilton's in his rookie year. #F1https://t.co/Q5nzz341aI pic.twitter.com/dFCDKPZ0Wr

"This is the nature of the sport," Alonso recently told the BBC when speaking about how your car shapes your chances in Formula 1.

"Lewis (Hamilton) is driving as good as he has been the last eight years. He was dominating the sport and breaking all the records and 100-and-something pole positions. And now he is doing a mega lap - as he said in Australia or somewhere like that - and he is one second behind. So, yeah - welcome."

Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have both drivers contracted beyond this year, and Red Bull look increasingly likely to keep Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen - with Christian Horner recently pretty much shutting down any hope of a Red Bull super-team next season.

The man himself seems pretty chilled out about the situation when he looks back at his win drought.

Mercedes' dominance meant that even if his car was competitive in the turbo hybrid era, he would have been unlikely to compete anyway, admitting that he'd never had conversations over a move to the Brackley-based