Replying to a user’s comment on X, the former German driver wrote: “Alonso makes us drivers from the ’90s and 2000s look like early retirees.”

Fretnzen spent a decade in Formula 1, making his debut in 1994 and calling time on his career in 2003 after racking up 160 Grands Prix. He bowed out of the sport at the age of 36, with a third-place finish in the 1999 championship for Jordan standing as the best result of his career.

A very different story applies to Alonso, who is set to begin his 23rd Formula 1 season this year at the age of 45 — an all-time record in the history of the sport. The Spaniard also holds the all-time record for the most Formula 1 race starts, with an astonishing 425 appearances to his name.

The two-time world champion was seen on track at MotorLand Aragón in images released by Aston Martin, driving one of the two road-legal hypercars conceived by Adrian Newey.

While technically road-legal, the Valkyrie bears little resemblance to a conventional production car, with its engineering and performance far closer to those of a Formula 1 car.