While the Frenchman refused to draw any conclusions from the Woking outfit’s pre-season form to date, he is firmly optimistic the team will steadily move up the grid.

“We can’t say any numbers – it’s still too early. But we are making big improvements and making massive progress,” Boullier told Formula1.com.

“And there will be massive progress this year. The fact that there is more freedom for the engine manufacturers will have an impact, as you are able to change your targets and your timing.

“I definitely don’t want to build any wrong expectations – that would be wrong for everybody, including the drivers.”

On the subject of Honda’s recent change in management, with Yusuke Hasegawa taking over from Yasuhisa Arai, Boullier believes both partners are on the same page.

“Mr Hasegawa attended the first test and I sat down with him to talk and we discovered the same understanding about what we want to achieve.”

But Boullier also underlined the fact that improvement and progress were not solely in the hands of its partner Honda, as McLaren itself will also need to uphold its side of the bargain in 2016.

“As far as McLaren is concerned we’ve been working very hard on the huge evolution of the car. We left no stone unturned.

“The car from last year has been really stripped down to details and we’ve tried to correct any weaknesses and it looks positive on the first test analysis.

“We have really improved the car itself. And we want an engine that matches that. “