Has "hungry shark" Alonso timed his Renault F1 comeback perfectly?

As Daniel Ricciardo stood on the podium at the Nurburgring and raised his third-place trophy to the cheers of the Renault team members below, there would surely have been a pang of sadness.

All of the work that Ricciardo and Renault have done together since his arrival in 2019 had been leading up to that moment - and yet their partnership has just six more races to run.

The man picking up the mantle from McLaren-bound Ricciardo will be Fernando Alonso, whose reintegration with Renault ahead of next season continued this week with a test outing in the 2020 car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

And for once, it seems like Alonso may have got his career timing absolutely right.

After Alonso left Renault for McLaren at the end of 2006 off the back of two world titles - the first making him the youngest champion in F1 history - his career was marked by a series of missteps and frustration.

In many cases, it was right place at the wrong time. McLaren was the right team in 2007; the complication was Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari was arguably the right place in 2010; it just coincided with Red Bull's ascendance. McLaren and Honda had potential when Alonso joined in 2015, only for a disastrous three-year stint to follow between the team and its power unit supplier.

But when Alonso returns to the F1 grid in 2021 after two seasons away, he will join a Renault team that is building a huge amount of momentum. Ricciardo's podium in the Eifel Grand Prix was hardly a shock. If anything, it was overdue, so strong has Renault been of late with a string of near-misses and P4s prior to the Nurburgring weekend.

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Ricciardo has put much of Renault's recent success down to a "fundamental' breakthrough it made with its approach to setting up the RS20 at Silverstone in August. Since the Belgian Grand Prix, Ricciardo has finished a race no lower than sixth, outscoring all drivers except the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

The Australian's role in bringing Renault forward has been instrumental, but he feels no disappointment that all of his work leading into 2021 will be left for Alonso to pick up. "Not at all - I'm certainly keen to keep this train moving," Ricciardo said. "I'll put everything I can into it. Next year's another story."

Alonso is rarely a man to talk himself down. He hailed his Le Mans victory with Toyota in 2018 as "on a higher level than any other victory" at the race, and regularly made reference to his 21-0 qualifying record against McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne in their final season together, even long after leaving the team.

"If you asked me, what's missing to be a regular contender to the podium? Let's be clear: we are still missing one second or 1% of competitiveness to be on that podium on a regular basis," Cyril Abiteboul

So for him to say after his first run in the 2020 Renault earlier this week "the car is obviously outperforming me at the moment", and that he "cannot extract the maximum from the car" right now is an interesting indication of where the team is at.

Naturally, Alonso will need to get used to the toll regularly racing an F1 car puts the body under - although he humbly said himself upon his announcement at Renault that recent fitness tests showed "the best results ever in my career" - and will be nearing 40 by the time the new season begins. But it also points to the growing momentum that Renault is building and the strength of the current car that will carry into next year, when the team will rebrand as Alpine.

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Ricciardo called the Renault "pretty complete" after qualifying in Germany, having proved it to be capable of impressing beyond the low downforce tracks like Spa and Monza. Team principal Cyril Abiteboul felt the performance at the Nurburgring was further evidence Renault had produced a "good all-rounder".

"We were coming at this track with some doubt, because it's the first time since Barcelona we are using the extreme high downforce level," Abiteboul said after Ricciardo's podium. "This track was probably the last point of what was missing to confirm that. It's a clear indication of a level which is good for this type of position."

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But Abiteboul also made clear the result was not to be taken as the norm: "If you asked me, what's missing to be a regular contender to the podium? Let's be clear: we are still missing one second or 1% of competitiveness to be on that podium on a regular basis.

"So as much as there is lots of emotion and good vibe today, we also measure the work that's remaining if we want to be on a regular basis, in such a way with these type of emotions."

Abiteboul's reality check is accurate. In a typical race through 2020, the podium has been filled out by the two Mercedes drivers plus the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Even if Renault were a clear third-fastest in the midfield fight, fifth place is the best it theoretically should be expecting each time around (the second Red Bull's underperformance notwithstanding).

The promise of fifth would never have previously satisfied Alonso, but the expectations are different this time around. He's made clear that he sees the real opportunity in 2022 when the technical regulations change, making 2021 more of a learning year.

But the Spaniard will surely be looking at Renault's displays this year with a growing level of excitement for what is possible next season. It's unlikely he will add to his tally of 32 grand prix victories, but he will at least inherit a car that looks strong in all areas and can be a regular leader in the midfield battle.

The development token system means McLaren will have to focus on the integration of the new Mercedes power unit instead of other areas of the car, giving Renault an advantage in that particular battle. The likes of Racing Point and Ferrari - the latter confident of resolving its current straight-line speed woes - will be hoping to make steps forward through their updates, yet Renault has proven its own strength in development through this year.

Since his appearance at the Indianapolis 500 in August, Alonso's attention has been solely on his Renault comeback, making a return to the team's factory last month to begin his preparations. Plans are afoot for him to be on-site with Renault for at least one race this year, but even during last weekend's grand prix, he was closely engaged with the team.

"We receive a message before, during and after the race," Abiteboul said. "You would be impressed to measure his level of interest.

"I think that when he initially joined the team, and in his communication when we announced him, it was very much about 2022. The more the season is going, with the team's progression and the car progression, the more he starts to be interested in 2021.

"Fernando is like a big shark. As soon as he starts to feel the blood, he wants to attack. That's what I see. I see a very hungry shark. That would be good to see."

Alonso said his motivation after Sunday's podium was unchanged, but was excited about the possibilities for next year. "I know what the team is capable of, and I know the prospects for the future are good," he said. "The podium is a thing that had to happen. Most important thing is to follow the trend that we see now, keep the momentum into next year, especially for 2022, and I think we know how to do it."

For all of the scepticism about Alonso's third marriage to Renault and return to the series he seemed so frustrated with just two years ago, the signs are increasingly positive for their latest romance.

Assuming he has lost none of the edge that saw him wildly outperform the 2018 McLaren and enjoy success in sportscar racing in the last couple of years, then next year could offer him more than simply laying the foundations for 2022 and beyond.