It is one of the sad ironies of life that some of the best opportunities one comes across are really curses in disguise.
For an up-and-coming young racing driver with a string of impressive performances under his belt, to be offered a race seat with one of the sport's oldest and most iconic marques is an unmissable opportunity, at least on the surface. But such blessings can also be curses in disguise, as Sergio Perez discovered to his chagrin following his short-lived McLaren career.
Speaking to reporters in Spa today, Perez revealed that he had turned down a Ferrari future to grab the chance of what turned out to be a one-season seat with McLaren following Lewis Hamilton's shock departure for Mercedes.
"The relationship with [Ferrari] is still good," he said. "In the past I was really close to a drive for the team and in Formula One you never know what can happen. At that point [then-Ferrari team principal] Stefano [Domenicali] told me I had to stay at Sauber for one more year and then go to Ferrari [in 2014]. But then the opportunity with McLaren came.
"At that time McLaren was really winning and had been for a couple of years; it was really the team to be at. It turned out it was not the right team. In hindsight, it damaged quite a bit my reputation because when a big team gets rid of you after a year it really damages your reputation in the sport. I believe with my results in the past year, and this year if I can have strong results, then why can't the opportunity come to go back to a top team?"
For Perez, the short-term gain of what should have been a promotion to a drive with a top-tier team has led to the longer-term pain of slowing down his career momentum.
The Mexican racer could not have foreseen that his move to the team would coincide with the beginning of McLaren's three-year (and counting...) winless streak. On the surface, the decision would have been a no-brainer: move to a top-tier team now, or trust that the Ferrari deal will happen as planned in a year's time?
Perez is far from the only driver whose career has been stalled by mis-timed team switches, of course. Being in the right team at the right time - the right car at the right time - is a key element of F1 success, and has been since Juan-Manuel Fangio demonstrated his unerring ability to pick the perfect contender at the perfect time during Formula One's first decade. But Fangio is the exception.
Even living legends are not immune from making the wrong move at the wrong time - double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi's decision to leave McLaren for the Copersucar team marked the end of the Brazilian's appearances on the top step of the podium, while fellow champions Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve's careers ended after questionable moves. In contrast, Jean Alesi's move to Ferrari - which should have been the making of the Frenchman - came at the beginning of a Scuderia slump and cost him five valuable years.
There is no formula for getting it right, and endless regrets when getting it wrong. However confident Perez is that the relationship with Ferrari remains a strong one, few expect to see the Mexican racer don a red race suit down the line. The window of opportunity was briefly open before Perez himself slammed it shut by signing with McLaren.
Strong results could yet give Perez the chance of a future seat with a top team, in theory. In practice, however, the top teams either have no vacancies or a healthy roster of young talent to promote. Timing is everything, and as Perez has evolved from impressive ingenue to experienced yet winless racer, his value to those at the top has diminished. Sport is a cruel mistress.