There were no celebrations on Sunday despite a major breakthrough for the burgeoning McLaren-Honda project.
Six difficult races into the new Anglo-Japanese works era, Jenson Button scored the MP4-30’s first points at no less a venue than fabled Monaco.
But team boss Eric Boullier said no champagne was sprayed in the garage.
"We will celebrate when we win something again," the Frenchman is quoted by Spain’s Marca.
Boullier said any attention that might be diverted to celebrating the first four points must instead remain fixed on improving.
Fernando Alonso, for instance, would also have scored points in Monaco, if not for yet another technical failure.
The Spaniard was reported to have suffered a gearbox problem, but Boullier said the precise cause "is not yet clear".
"But clearly we have to improve the reliability," he insisted. "It is one of our priorities. We must improve in all areas."