McLaren vow to focus solely on racing

McLaren's season has been as successful on track as controversial off it, and Dennis's relationship with world champion Fernando Alonso has deteriorated significantly over the past months.

The situation has led to doubts about Alonso's future in the team, despite having two years of his contract left to run.

On Saturday Dennis dodged questions about his relationship with the Spanish driver and insisted the team's sole focus will be on the remaining races of the year.

"We will focus on the balance on the three remaining races before turning our attention to next year," Dennis told reporters when asked about his relationship with Alonso, trailing teammate Lewis Hamilton by two points.

"We know exactly where we stand as a team and we know what's behind and what's in front of us. We're focused on the future not the past - that's the way to win world championships. That's what we're intending to do.

"All the issues about relationships and who said and did what is immaterial to the process. I'm not going to waste any of my energy on it and neither is any other member of the team.

"Yes, we've got a competitive tension within the team - but that's all it is."

Dennis said Alonso and him had not been in speaking terms since the Hungarian Grand Prix, something the Spaniard later denied.

Despite the situation, Dennis said there were no talks whatsoever about trying to find a way out for Alonso.

"We have contracts with both of our drivers that are for the next several years," he added. "We are focused on the next three races and contractual relationships will only be discussed after the last race. There is at this stage, nobody engaged in any dialogue whatsoever.

"It's all speculation. There are people who want to destabilise the team or defocus the drivers. We're not wasting our energy on these things."

The team boss also recommended both his drivers to focus on the on-track action rather than on criticising each other.

"My view to both drivers is that all their energy should be focused on doing their jobs and competing fairly against each other," Dennis said when asked about Hamilton's criticism of Alonso's loyalty to the team.

"We are committed to providing both drivers with equal opportunities to win the world championship.

"We don't have any intention to contribute to any other part of the process that doesn't help us get the job done. That's my strong recommendation to both of them. We've got three races to go and that's what we intend to do."