SILVERSTONE, England (AP) -- Lewis Hamilton returns home to race the British Grand Prix with his McLaren team embroiled in a scandal over accusations of sabotage against Formula One rival Ferrari.

FIA, motor sport's governing body, said it has the cooperation of both teams to hold an investigation after Ferrari fired an employee who allegedly sent a package of technical information to a McLaren rival.

Following an internal investigation before the Monaco GP, Ferrari fired British technician Nigel Stepney and filed a criminal complaint against him before inviting FIA to become involved.

On Tuesday, McLaren suspended an employee -- named in British media as chief designer Mike Coughlan -- after learning he had received the technical information at the end of April. On Wednesday, McLaren said its cars did not contain any Ferrari-related alterations and invited FIA to inspect them.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis acknowledged that it was a testing time, but remained confident his team would be ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

"It's been a very difficult last three days," he said. "We are working closely with FIA and we are working with Ferrari. This matter doesn't involve our company. I have absolute confidence that with the passage of time, the world will understand the McLaren position was reflected in our statements.

"I have complete confidence in the outcome."

But Ferrari and McLaren were reluctant to discuss the issue much further Thursday.

McLaren didn't want to prejudice a legal case and wouldn't even say if Coughlan is still with the team. Ferrari said it consulted lawyers in London last week, but the police aren't yet involved. It did make an urgent application to the London High Court on July 2, but is prevented from making public statements.

No driver wanted to comment on the issue.

"I don't know the full story," said Fernando Alonso of McLaren. "From the drivers' point of view: we arrive here, drive the car, and fly home on Sunday afternoon."

Felipe Massa of Ferrari agreed.

"I have nothing to say about that," he said. "I am here to drive. My job is to drive the car."

A mysterious powder was reportedly found on the gas tanks of the cars of Ferrari's Massa and Kimi Raikkonen on May 21, six days before the Monaco GP.

Massa finished third and Raikkonen eighth in the race, while McLaren drivers Alonso and Lewis Hamilton swept the top two positions.

The two teams have split the eight F1 races. Hamilton leads the driver standings with 64 points, 14 ahead of Alonso, 17 in front of Massa and 22 more than Raikkonen with nine races remaining.

After winning last week's French GP for his second victory of the season, Raikkonen wants to continue his momentum.

"It is never too late or too early to win, " he said. "Finally in Magny Cours, everything went the right way in my race and you could see the results."

The pressure was building after six winless races following the season-opening Australia GP, but Raikkonen said the expectation of moving from McLaren to replace Schumacher was inconsequential.

"I never had the slightest doubt I had lost my qualities as a driver and I never lost my faith or my motivation," Raikkonen said. "I knew that we had to put together the pieces the right way. The victory in Melbourne didn't mislead us -- we knew that there were still problems."

But that still didn't stop Massa from dominating qualifying and winning the next two races.

Meanwhile, Hamilton will try to put all the distractions aside and concentrate on maintaining his perfect eight-for-eight streak of top-three finishes in his rookie F1 season.

"To win at this race would be immense, but we have to be realistic with our expectations," Hamilton said. "This is one race out of 17, and as with all the Grands Prix, I will do my best to win for the fans."

Last year, Hamilton won the GP2 -- the series just below F1 -- to move up to the top class.

"But the most important thing for them is to enjoy the whole weekend, whatever the result will be," he added. "Silverstone always seems to have great races. I certainly had fun here last year, as you can really push the limits."

Last year, Alonso won six of the first nine races while driving for Renault, including the prestigious trio of the Spanish, British and Monaco GPs. He said things are a lot different this year.

"This year, there is the tire factor -- everybody has the same tire -- and the competition is close," Alonso said Thursday. "This year, with the same tire for everybody, I think the teams are much closer than last year."

This year, Alonso has only won in Malaysia and Monaco and finished seventh in two of the last three races. So he won't be moving aside if Hamilton is right behind him, trying to win his home race.

"I don't think so," Alonso said. "The home Grand Prix is important for every driver."

Practice is Friday and Saturday morning with qualifying Saturday afternoon on the 5.1-kilometer (3.2-mile) Silverstone circuit. Sunday's race is 60 laps.