Fernando Alonso admits he still considers himself the "best" racing driver in the world.

Despite his lack of success in Formula 1 in the final years of his career, there was no doubt the double world champion still remained, pound for pound, as good as those at the front.

Knowing F1 won't allow him to do show that, Fernando has taken on new challenges, achieving success in WEC and hopes to add the Indianapolis 500 to his name next month, becoming just the second driver ever to complete motorsport's 'triple crown'.

This week, he was back in an F1 car though, testing with McLaren in Bahrain, and spoke with RaceFans about his continued belief in himself.

"I think I am [the best], I think everyone thinks that [they] are the best," Alonso said.

"I’ve been very competitive over many years in Formula 1, lucky enough to win championships.

"Even my last season probably was my strongest with 21-0 [in qualifying] to my teammate, something I’ve never done in my career.

"Now with winning 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning Daytona, winning Sebring, hopefully being competitive in the Indy 500 and [doing] some other things outside maybe the asphalt, it’s something that probably has no precedence in the sport. I am looking for that, for challenges."

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In recent weeks alone, Alonso has hinted at a run in Supercars' Bathurst 1000 and tested a Toyota Dakar Rally car, perhaps signalling the next major race he will attempt.

Something that the 37-year-old was keen to highlight, however, was his bid to tackle motorsport's biggest races isn't just something done 'for fun'.

"Sometimes I read when I am testing something that ‘we are happy that you are having fun but please come back to Formula 1’, like ‘please come back to the real job’ [and] this is fun," he explained.

"I’m not having fun when I try one of those cars I have no idea. They have to tell me how they do. You need to learn from zero, you need to read the bumps, you need to read things.

"So definitely there is a lot of effort that I put behind every challenge that I take and a lot of stuff behind.

"I’m not doing it for fun, I’m doing it for the difficulty, for the challenge and just to hope to be better as a driver."

And as he continues to push on his unique path, Alonso concludes by insisting he'll keep going for as long he feels he can.

"As long as I have the power to do it and I feel competitive [I will continue]," he said.

"Maybe one day I jump in a Formula 1 car and there is one guy with the same car that is quicker than me.

"Or I jump in another car and one guy is quicker than me with the same car. As far as I know, it’s never happened so far so I will keep still driving."