World championship points might be what matter most to Formula 1 teams, but as McLaren heads to the Chinese Grand Prix it will be the first to confess that its third place in the constructors' standings gives it little reason to celebrate.
Its racing director Eric Boullier labelled it "funny" that the team's placing is so high right now, because he well knows it has been bailed out by its consistency and reliability in the first two races rather than out-and-out pace.
McLaren needs a rapid response, well aware that what happens over the next few weeks will pretty much dictate momentum for the remainder of its campaign. Make no bones about it: last weekend was a brutal wake-up call for the team. Its lacklustre performance in qualifying in front of its Bahraini owners - outqualified by Toro Rosso and the Honda power it ditched at the end of last season, and at no point looking like it would make it through to Q3 - hurt deeply.