MARUSSIA have used the three week break since the China grand prix wisely, upgrading the nose area of Max Chilton's car.
The Reigate-based racer will take to the track in Spain this weekend as Formula 1 returns to Europe, and Marussia team principal John Booth believes it will serve as a "good barometer" for the team.
"The three-week break since China has been extremely beneficial," Booth said. "Spain is a key race, not least because it provides a very good barometer of car performance up and down the field.
"The weekend, coupled with next week's two-day test, will also ensure everyone gets a good run at the implementation and evaluation of the new developments being introduced at this stage of the season.
"We will be bringing upgrades which can be considered a reasonable collective step. These are primarily aerodynamic, some of which are visible around the nose area and some perhaps a little more subtle.
"To complement the aero upgrades, we also have some mechanical changes which will allow us to better exploit the aero performance of the car."
And Chilton is looking forward to getting back in his car to test out the "interesting new developments".
"After what will have been almost three weeks away from the car, I'm really looking forward to the Spanish grand prix this weekend," Chilton said. "We have some interesting new developments and I can't wait to see what these will bring.
"I'm sure Friday will be a very busy day of evaluation during the two free practice sessions, and of course there will be the chance to look at things a bit more closely after the race during the two-day test, so all in all we should leave Spain next week with a very good understanding of where we are."
