Fernando Alonso's return to F1 this season has been a successful one, but the Spaniard notes he still has some work to do when it comes to understanding tyre performance. The now 40-year-old left the sport at the end of the 2018 season following a disappointing second stint with McLaren. He's impressed since making his comeback, finishing in the points 11 times from 16 races. Things have gone so well that Alonso announced back in August that he will stay with Alpine next season , though he's aware there are still things he has to get to grips with in order to feel 100 percent comfortable. "It's still difficult for me to understand where the tyre's performance is," Alonso told German publication Auto Motor und Sport . "If you do a different preparation on the outlap, or if you encounter traffic, the tyre seems to behave differently as soon as you push and start the lap. "I haven't fully understood that yet, [so] I would say I'm at 95 percent. Other than that, I'm OK." Alonso believes next season will be even smoother for him as he'll have more influence on Alpine's development. He added: "Part of the 95 percent is the amount of time I've been away from working out. I'm missing two years where the tyres have developed further. "Second, there is a lack of trust in the feedback from the steering. It feels better after Baku, but it's not where I was part of the development project from the start. I just adapted a bit. "I hope it will be better next year. The cars will also be completely different to drive. Perhaps the whole field of drivers will have to realign their driving style. Hopefully I can take advantage of this." Alonso currently sits 10th in the standings with 58 points, 12 clear of teammate Esteban Ocon.
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