Fernando Alonso believes he should have left Ferrari sooner than he did, because things at the team were getting “more and more sad” with each passing season.
The Spaniard joined Ferrari in 2010, having left Renault for McLaren, only to fall out with the team, leading to a two-year return to Renault before his switch to the Scuderia.
He spent five years at Ferrari and finished runner-up in his first season with the Italian team. He would finish runner-up another two times, before dropping to sixth in 2014 – his final year before switching back to McLaren.
But that move should have been made a season or two earlier according to the two-time champion.
“Probably, yes,” he told CNN when asked if he should have left sooner. “The car was not competitive at all and things were getting more and more sad.
“So probably one or two years less was the best thing, but you know we tried to do our best and we fought until the end of every single race.
“After five years in Ferrari, being second all the time, I think it was enough for me,” he admitted.
“With Ferrari sometimes you win or you lose depending on what the mood of the team in general, of the group in general.
“It’s a very big team, with some good things, some bad things, and as I said it’s good to experience and to live once being in Ferrari.”
He currently sits 15th in the standings with McLaren, having scored just five points, but he insists it was always a risky move which he hopes will pay off in the future.
“Last year I realised that with the Mercedes domination it was not possible to win for Ferrari in the short term and a new project was the best idea.
“McLaren was a risky project because they were completely new, but we are one team – we win and we lose together.”
