Honda have said that they have not decided when to deploy their tally of performance 'tokens' in 2016.

Barcelona, the first European race of the season, is traditionally the scene of big update packages, and McLaren is indeed ready with an improved car.

"We hope it will be a big step forward," Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda's F1 chief, is quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.

"I heard some of the pieces are very promising, but until we see them we will not know the exact benefit. For us, we are focusing on the ICE (engine) and the ERS."

"From a tactical point of view we do not want to use tokens for small improvements.

"We want to use them effectively, but we will have to carefully analyse the exact results of the developments."

The report says that Honda still have 14 FIA 'tokens' - a system to be scrapped altogether for 2017 - to spend across this season.