Max Verstappen has admitted disappointment that he never got to enjoy a wheel-to-wheel battle with Fernando Alonso in equal cars.

Throughout his four-year career, the Dutchman has always had superior performance than the Spaniard whether at Toro Rosso or Red Bull due to a superior engine and/or chassis.

While the pair did have one notable fight for fifth in Australia, with Alonso coming out ahead, the rest of the time the pair has often seen Verstappen simply ease ahead with DRS as he comes through the field.

"It's a bit of a shame I never really raced against him," said the 21-year-old in Abu Dhabi. "Of course he was in F1 while I was there, but I never really had a fight with him because he's always been at the back because of the issues they had.

"That's one thing I regret. I've been racing against Seb, Lewis already, and that's been nice, but never with Fernando, who back in the day when I was watching TV he was always the one really fighting them as well.

"So, it's nice that I raced with him, but I never got to fight against him, which is a shame."

There is still the prospect of Alonso returning in the future, which many in the paddock are not ruling out, including Bernie Ecclestone who was in Abu Dhabi this past weekend.

"I have the feeling he will come back because F1 still needs him," the former F1 boss stated. "I don't care what the team is, although I doubt he can go back to Ferrari or will go back with McLaren.

"I know that if he had a winning car, he would never have left. He may have made wrong decisions when choosing his team, but that doesn't mean it wasn't sad to see him suffer in recent years."

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Alonso too is leaving the door open and made his feeling clear before the race.

"Even if I will try and I will drive different series, and I will try to race around the world, I think my life will always be with Formula 1. I will always be an F1 driver, or an ex-F1 driver," he said.

"My driving style, my philosophy on driving, my skills to drive a racing car will always be behind an F1 car. I love this sport. I fell in love at a very early age, looking at my icons and my idols.

"I’m happy that I will be around, maybe not driving the car but I will always be a Formula 1 fan."