Fernando Alonso considers his comeback drive to P7 at the Azerbaijan GP as "one of the best races of my life" after a tough start.

The Spaniard would be involved in a multi-car incident on the run to Turn 3 on the opening lap having become of the pieces in a three-car sandwich including Sergey Sirotkin and Nico Hulenberg.

Despite sustaining what many thought would be race ending damage, the McLaren driver returned and went on to make his way back into the points, extending his current streak of top 10's to six races.

“Today’s race was very complicated," Alonso said somewhat understatedly.

“The first lap in the midfield is the same old story; people preferring to crash into other cars rather than lifting off. My car was heavily damaged. I had two punctures, with one flat tyre damaging the floor. I also had a damaged front and rear wing.

“I really thought that would be the end of my race," he added. "But after the team fitted a new front wing and fresh tyres, I went back out, fought all race long, and actually found the car to be quite competitive."

The late Safety Car to recover the stricken Red Bulls brought the 36-year-old back into play, but regardless Fernando was delighted just to have not given up.

“I’m happy with the points. It was probably one of the best races that I’ve done in a long time, or the best race of my life,” he claimed.