Hamilton, Alonso skip Turkey build-up

Despite the intense media interest surrounding the fight for the world championship, especially after the events of Hungary, the duo will be staying in downtown Istanbul rather than heading to the track.

Both drivers have scheduled sponsorship commitments in the morning and, with neither being called up for the official FIA press conference this afternoon, the team have decided to hold a scheduled team meeting downtown rather than have everyone make the lengthy trip to the circuit.

The Woking-based outfit are keen to put the events of the Hungaroring behind them, and it is understood that the meeting today will be be geared towards clearing the air ahead of track action starting tomorrow.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren F1 CEO, said last week that the team were determined to keep their focus.

"Each race weekend has its own challenges. We faced some unique ones at the Hungarian Grand Prix and there has been much reportage in the press in the two weeks since," he said.

"However, none of this has affected the preparation and motivation of Fernando, Lewis and the team for this round of the season."