As Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line at the Hungarian Grand Prix, he completed a near-perfect weekend given the limitations of his machinery. With the knowledge that his McLaren-Honda was no match for the Mercedes, Red Bulls and Ferraris in front, Alonso could derive a certain satisfaction from finishing seventh in all three practice sessions, qualifying and the race. There was the matter of a small spin in qualifying -- without which he may have qualified sixth -- but why let that upset the perfect symmetry of the weekend?

"I'm happy to be best of the rest, because Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are way ahead of the rest of us," he said after the race. "This is the battle we can have, and we did our best."

For the vast majority of his career being "best of the rest" would not have made Alonso happy. But perhaps happiness -- just like a good result in Formula One -- is all relative. Earlier in the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Alonso sat down with ESPN to discuss the decisions he made in his career, and ultimately whether they made him happy. Nearly ten years have passed since Alonso was last crowned world champion, but even now there are few who would bet against him adding a third title given a car capable of the challenge.

The very nature of Formula One means winning championships is as much about being in the right car at the right time as it is about having raw driving talent. The theory goes that the best drivers end up in the best cars, but the last three seasons of Alonso's career suggest otherwise. So how did such a highly-rated driver end up in such a slow car?

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

The very short answer lies in Honda's struggles with turbo-compounding, but the long answer cannot ignore the decisions Alonso made after his two world championship victories in 2005 and 2006. Despite driving for McLaren, Renault (for a second time), Ferrari and McLaren (for a second time), his time at some of the biggest teams in the sport did not yield that elusive third title. So did Alonso make the wrong choices?

"I try always to find new motivation, to find happiness in the moves that I make between teams -- and obviously a more competitive car than what I had in that moment," Alonso explained to ESPN. "After two championships in Renault, I felt that I needed something new. I had that at McLaren [in 2007] and probably it didn't work the first time because the atmosphere was not right and I did not feel totally happy and integrated in the team.

"After that I moved back to Renault and McLaren went and won the following year with [Lewis] Hamilton, but never won again. So it's not like I left a team that dominated Formula One, because they never won again.

"I joined Ferrari because it was some kind of a dream to drive for Ferrari. I had a fantastic time there, I had a more competitive car than what I had in Renault in the previous years, so I fought for the championship in the last races.

"I then left Ferrari because I felt that my time there was over. I didn't find any more motivation and I felt that they will not win soon -- and they are not winning. I found new motivation at McLaren, I am happy and I am enjoying this project. Hopefully with a better car very soon -- or from next year -- than my previous car."

Alonso lists his past teams like a lothario lists ex-girlfriends -- no regrets, no what-ifs and minimal sentimentality. Each switch had its reasons, and in his eyes the passage of time has not exposed those reasons as mistakes -- even if the benefit of hindsight has revealed glaring missed opportunities.

No regrets

One such opportunity came in late 2007 when Red Bull was amassing a team to take on the F1 establishment. Alonso, who was making his unceremonious exit from McLaren at the time, was on the top of Red Bull's driver wish-list but passed up the offer. Instead, he returned to Renault -- a team in decline that would ultimately leave the sport two years later -- while Red Bull went on to dominate the sport between 2010 and 2013.

"Obviously if you had a crystal ball you would change some things," Alonso says (take note of the use of "you" and not "I"). "You would maybe take different decisions, maybe you go to Red Bull in 2008, probably you would do these things. But I would not change anything because if I changed something I will not be the person that I am today, and I am happy with what I am today."

Getty Images

There it is again: the word "happy". The delivery is not always convincing but Alonso never uses it without purpose. It's worth exploring in greater depth as it is also relevant to Alonso's current situation at McLaren. So, how is it possible for a world-class driver to be happy at a team that is not capable of fighting for titles?

"[It's about having] people that trust your job and believe that you can deliver and that you are an important part of the team," he explains. "It makes me happy to have the atmosphere in the team when you see everyone working in the same direction and everyone focused on the victory. I'm always delivering 100 percent of myself and I'm dedicated to my sport every single day of the year, and I want to see something similar from the others in my team.

"Here at McLaren, for example, we are not performing well, we are not competitive, but everyone in the team is so focused and they want so much this recovery and this win that it makes you come into the next race with motivation, really looking forward to that race.

"You know that you will be P12 or P11, but you know you are looking forward to that race. Why? In some years of my career maybe you feel that everyone wants his own interest in a way, and that will never succeed in the long term. That frustrates me a lot because I don't understand and I want everyone working flat out for the success."

What if...?

But while Alonso appears content with the decisions he has made in his career, it seems harder for him to forget the defining moments that were out of his control. While driving for Ferrari, he had two shots at the title in 2010 and 2012 and on both occasions just missed out to Sebastian Vettel in the more competitive Red Bull. When he reflects on those seasons it is not the decisions he made but the factors that were out of his control that stick in his mind.

"When you are fighting for the world championship, normally small things can dictate the final result. One is the luck, small good luck can change completely the championship, or bad luck can destroy your hopes.

Getty Images

"I remember 2012, Spa, when [Romain] Grosjean ran over my car [taking Alonso out of the race at the first corner], probably because of that -- a crash that I was not even involved in because it was Lewis Hamilton and Grosjean fighting each other -- that cost me the championship. I lost the championship by three points that year and in that Spa race, even if I finished seventh, I would have won the championship.

"And the other case was Michael Schumacher and [Vitantonio] Liuzzi, Abu Dhabi 2010, the accident that caused the safety car and then, by our own mistake, we pitted at the wrong time and ended up losing the championship. Small things can change a lot the final result."

For Alonso it is those small bits of bad luck, and not the big decisions he made, that he wishes he could change.

"If I was driving for Red Bull [from 2008] probably I would have more championships, but because they were dominating between 2010 and 2014 probably I would never have driven for Ferrari. I am very happy and very proud to drive for Ferrari, all my time there.

"As I said, it's more maybe luck that would be nice to change, because with those two scenarios for example, with two safety cars or two accidents, I could be a four-time world champion now with Sebastian two. It's completely the opposite, so it's two little scenarios. Maybe those you would like to change but not the decisions in general."

The elusive third title

But putting all the twists and turns of previous seasons aside, can a driver of Alonso's undoubted talent really be happy with two world titles at the age of 35?

"Well, in my opinion, the most important thing is that if you ask anyone in the sport their opinion of myself, more or less everyone will respect the job I've done. Everyone will think that probably I deserve more wins or championships or something.

"So there is always these kinds of feelings, which is probably better than any other trophy that I have in home or any other championship that maybe other people have. Maybe that weight of those championships that some people won, it will remain that they won it because they have a fantastic car and that weight will be too heavy for them to lift forever. I prefer the position that I am in."

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Of course, no-one other than Alonso can know if he is truly happy. His career to date may not have seen his talent rewarded with as many championships as it deserves, but he is not the first driver in F1 history to fall short of his title-winning potential. After all, such things in Formula One -- like happiness -- are relative.

"I probably have more trophies than I wished for, or deserved, or I was dreaming of because my mother works her whole life in a shopping mall and my father in an explosives factory, and here I am talking to you and I am in the cover of one magazine and I am a two-time world champion. So probably I have much more than what I dreamed of.

"I'm happy with what I am and also the decisions that I made in my career. I did it truly because I felt at that time that it was the right decision, so if I change some of those, I will not be myself."