For those who have read Napoleon Hills book " Think and grow rich" they will be familiar of the story of RU Darby and his uncle who had a hunch that there was gold in Colorado, borrowed money from family and friends to buy the digging machinery only to get frustrated and quit their project and sell the business to a local junk man for a few hundred dollars. The junk man called in an expert to see if there was an opportunity and indeed there was. They discovered that RU Darby quit digging 3 feet from what will later become Colorado's biggest gold mine.
So the question should be asked
"Did Alonso make a big mistake leaving Ferrari so soon?" And without a doubt the answer is yes.
It should be noted the Ferrari has been heavily restructured are only going to get better. The engine is on par or even better than Merc. The tyre wear is better the chassis is improving. 2016 was supposed to be their year of resurgence but they have already surpassed their expectations. There is an air of optimism and new found energy in Ferrari. If there is a team to be in now it's Ferrari!
In a cruel twist of fate it may turn out that just as Alonso left McLaren's WC Car in 07 he come back 7 years later to a under performing McLaren and while giving up a Ferrari that will win the WDC in 2015 and beyond.
As Napoleon Hill said " One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat"
Perhaps this is Alonso's 3 feet from gold moment or in f1 terms 6 tenths from Gold.
Edited by Sunnyy, 29 March 2015 - 10:44.