A last-minute dash across Europe enabled McLaren to avoid the impact of an Icelandic volcano and transport car parts needed for this weekend's Chinese grand prix.

Members of the Formula One team were scheduled to bring the parts from England on Thursday but their flight was cancelled because of the massive plume of ash from Iceland that has disrupted air traffic across Europe.

"It is quite a miraculous story. Someone jumped into a car and drove five hours to Paris," said team head Martin Whitmarsh.

The Paris flight took off just 10 minutes before the airport was shut.

"The parts were delivered here. We have got a few people who were going to be latecomers who won't be here now, but we've got everything we need to perform this weekend," Whitmarsh added.

The rush delivery included a mixture of aerodynamic parts and component spares, some of which might prove essential in Sunday's race.

"You never know. The fact is, you bring the parts, you bring the spares. Some parts you bring to a race meeting you hope you don't need. But you never know what's going to happen," he said.

The volcano, which has erupted under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, normally a popular hiking ground in southern Iceland, was still spewing ash into the air on Friday and showed little sign of letting up.