Jenson Button: McLaren needs to understand its 2014 F1 car better

On the back of non-scores in Bahrain and China, McLaren is eager to get its season back on track at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

And although there are high hopes about planned upgrades that are coming on board over the next few weeks, Button thinks major improvements can be made by unlocking the potential that is in the team's 2014 car already.

"For us, it's not simply about bringing new parts to the circuit: it's about understanding and unlocking the car's secrets, and using that understanding to take bigger steps with performance," he said.

"We're still at the early stages with our car, and, for us, it's less about the components that we fit to it, and more about the bigger picture - finding a useful direction, gaining trust in our measurements and pushing ahead.

"We all know that this team has the capacity to develop a car through a season, so I hope and trust that we'll start to push forwards again soon."

Racing director Eric Boullier, who has already begun a restructuring of McLaren to help improve its fortunes, says the team knows exactly what has gone wrong in recent weeks.

"For us, the weekend will be about learning, and hopefully moving on from our disappointing performance in China last month," he said.

"The root of our underperformance has been comprehensively analysed; we know the areas where our package falls short, and we've taken steps - both short- and long-term - to address those.

"While not all of those will be in evidence in Barcelona this weekend, they mark the start of a fresh push and spirit within the whole organisation."