Hamilton, Button and Whitmarsh to stay at McLaren for 2012 F1 season

London, July 21(ANI): McLaren have confirmed that they have no intention of breaking up their top trio of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and team principal Martin Whitmarsh for the 2012 Formula One season.

Hamilton and Button are wanted elsewhere, while there has been talk that Whitmarsh's job is on the line.

However, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said: "Martin has done a fantastic job for McLaren. We want Martin, Lewis and Jenson here for the long term."

Neale further shrugged off the suggestion that McLaren, who have been Red Bull's closest rivals on track in the first half of the season this year, have now been overtaken by Ferrari.

"Ferrari have made steady progress over the last four or five races in qualifying. In the latter part of the [Silverstone] race as [the track] dried up, Alonso was able to show the underlying pace difference. We are mindful of that and not at all complacent," the BBC quoted Neale, as saying.

"Lewis and Jenson did a fantastic and aggressive job out there racing and, but for other factors, we should have had both cars around second and fourth and we might feel differently about the whole grand prix," he added.

Ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, Hamilton and Button are fourth and fifth respectively in the championship table, both 95 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. (ANI)