Eric Boullier says McLaren cannot afford to waste points-scoring opportunities through reliability issues this season.
McLaren has shown a clear improvement this year but saw Jenson Button retire in the early stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix, an engine failure the 2009 world champion felt cost him a top-six finish. Button will take on his second internal combustion engine (ICE) in China this weekend as a result.
Reliability was a big issue for Honda during the 2015 season and McLaren racing director Boullier insists it must not become a concern again this year now the team has made a step forward on the performance side.
"While we definitely saw a reassuring improvement in our performance in Bahrain, we cannot take anything for granted, and it's imperative that we don't waste opportunities to score valuable points due to lack of reliability, as we saw at the last race," Boullier said. "At the very least, we must learn from every situation, and in the case of Jenson's power unit issue, we've done so, so we go to China with continued optimism that we can try to maximise the potential of our package."
After making his debut in Bahrain, reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will once again be on standby to race in China. The Belgian youngster stepped in for Fernando Alonso, who failed a medical on the eve of the Bahrain weekend due to the injuries he sustained in a heavy shunt at the Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso will need to pass another medical in China before he is allowed to return to racing, which is not guaranteed, and Boullier says McLaren is ready for any outcome this weekend.
"Despite the decision from the FIA medical team that Fernando was not able to race, the team prepared admirably for the weekend, and Stoffel did a fantastic job to score his and the team's first championship point of the year, in his debut grand prix.
"Once again, Stoffel will be on standby until Fernando has his routine meeting with FIA doctors on Thursday, and until then we will be readying ourselves as normal. Fernando has been recuperating at home and training as usual, and we, like him, hope to see him back in the car. We'll accept the outcome -- whatever that may be -- and plan accordingly."