McLaren has struggled in the past two editions of the Bahrain Grand Prix following reliability issues in 2022 testing, and a late switch in car philosophy that ensured it was behind in development over 2023.
This year has started more favourably with McLaren expected to be in a similar position to where it left off last season, although team principal Andrea Stella explained during testing that the team still had more work to do to close the door on the leading Red Bull team.
