Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton have roared back into form.
"We didn't expect it at all," development driver and ambassador Marc Gene told DAZN after Hamilton clinched the Shanghai sprint from pole.
"I wouldn't have bet a single euro of my own money on it," he grinned.
In Australia, Hamilton lagged behind Charles Leclerc, but Ferrari's broader struggle to scrape minor points had raised bigger concerns at Maranello.
Asked if China's turnaround brought happiness, Gene replied: "Happy, yes, but above all relieved. There was still some doubt about whether what happened in Australia was real.
"Where better to disprove that than on a track as demanding as Shanghai? And with such high temperatures, which is what we're going to find more often this year," he added.
On whether Hamilton, 40, feels unburdened by silencing critics, Gene said: "I'd say Ferrari is more relieved. Lewis was already relieved in Australia, when he qualified a tenth behind Charles, because he saw he was getting close to the pace.
"This was fundamental for Ferrari. We're a team where the good and the bad are magnified so much, so there was a lot of pressure in Maranello, on the engineers, on the mechanics."
Hamilton dominated the sprint from pole, while McLaren and Red Bull grappled with tyre wear. Lando Norris' championship lead over Max Verstappen dwindled to 2 points after McLaren's sprint woes.
"Well, the result doesn't mean that we were at the bottom before and now we are suddenly at the top again," Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur cautioned. "It's just very close at the top.
"Sometimes McLaren has a huge advantage and sometimes not, so now we analyse the data."
Norris admitted he'd spotted his car's handling issues weeks ago. "We had the problem in the Bahrain test, just not as severe," he said.
Teammate Oscar Piastri nodded: "Our car is difficult to control in the wind."
Asked if Verstappen could climb above third in Sunday's Chinese GP, Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko told Osterreich: "I hope so.
"But something has to happen for that to happen. As soon as our tyres wear out, McLaren is a second faster.
"We are currently experiencing incredibly high tyre wear over the course of a full race."
Mercedes' George Russell stirred debate earlier by claiming McLaren's edge tops Red Bull's past peaks.
"He's right," Marko conceded. "They also bluff as much as they can. McLaren is clearly superior."
