Fernando Alonso believes McLaren 'had to try something' during the German Grand Prix if the team was going to secure a points finish after another difficult weekend.
The Spaniard had struggled to get inside the top 10 throughout the event and when the rain came, he felt there was an opportunity to capitalise on the inclement weather should it have continued.
GERMAN GRAND PRIX: Photo gallery | Championship standing
Unfortunately for the former double world champion, the gamble failed to pay off any chance of a points finish as the sharp showers that were falling at Turn 6 dissipated quickly; this led to the McLaren driver further falling down the order despite the appearance of the Safety Car for Sebastian Vettel's stricken Ferrari.
"It was a tricky race ," said Alonso.
"We bet on the rain and at the first drops we pitted for Intermediate tyres, expecting that it would rain hard in the following few minutes. But, it didn’t, and we were out there on a dry track with wet tyres, so we killed them and then we had to stop again to get back onto dry tyres.
"At that point, our race was compromised. It was difficult conditions out there, but we weren’t in the points so we had to try something. Disappointingly, the bet was the wrong one.
"At the end of the race, the team told me to retire the car, as they probably saw something on the data."
Sporting Director Gil de Ferran echoed Alonso's sentiments and confirmed there were concerns with the gearbox on his MCL33 which prompted the team to retire the car at the end of the race.
"A disappointing German Grand Prix for us," added the Brazilian.
"On Fernando’s side we took a gamble, banking on there being some heavy rain, but unfortunately we were a little too early and the gamble didn’t pay off. It’s a real shame for Fernando who was actually driving a really good race at that time, fighting as he usually does.
"At the end of the race, there were some concerns over his gearbox and we had to retire his car."
Alonso remains eighth in the Driver's Championship 12 points behind Nico Hulkenberg while McLaren remain in seventh in the Constructors' standings.
