McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh revealed that a "miraculous" series of events ensured his team's preparations for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix were not disrupted by the volcanic ash cloud that has resulted in flight restrictions across the UK.

A significant eruption from a volcano in Iceland has wreaked havoc with travel plans across the country, including those for various sports events.

McLaren had some parts still to send to Shanghai this week but ran into problems when some of their personnel were unable to fly as originally scheduled.

But Whitmarsh revealed a mixture of quick thinking from a member of his team, coupled with a stroke of fortune has ensured they have everything they need for the weekend.

"We had people coming yesterday with bits but they couldn't fly," he said. "It was quite a miraculous story in fact as someone then jumped in a car and drove five hours to Paris to catch an 11pm flight last night.

"That flight was brought forward to 10pm but then took off at 9:50pm, but he made the flight and the airport was shut at 10pm.

"It is a great story and the parts were delivered here. We have everything we need to perform this weekend."

McLaren enjoyed a pleasing day of practice today as reigning world champion Jenson Button clocked the fastest lap in the morning session before team-mate Lewis Hamilton went fastest in the afternoon.

And Whitmarsh believes his drivers can have every reason to feel confident of performing well this weekend.

"After the two practice sessions here I think we seem to be reasonably competitive," he added.

"We had some competitive long runs and we seemed relatively competitive on the shorter runs as well so hopefully we can have a clear and straightforward qualifying session, be at the front, race well and win."