Max Verstappen Out To Silence McLaren In The Battle Of Bahrain

McLaren's Lando Norris holds a wafer-thin advantage over four-time world champion Max Verstappen going into this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Let's take a look at five storylines ahead of the fourth race of 24 in the 2025 Formula One season:

Momentum with Max?

Max Verstappen arrives in Bahrain fresh from one of the best weekends of his life, on the track at least, in Japan. After a sublime pole last Saturday in Suzuka he held the McLarens at bay with a controlled drive to haul a Red Bull car that has yet to reach its full potential over the line to move one point behind Lando Norris in the world championship. He has won on the last two trips to Sakhir, with Red Bull posting a 1-2 in both races. 

While that may be a tall order with Yuki Tsunoda facing a steep learning curve in this only his second run out for Red Bull since dramatically replacing Liam Lawson, Verstappen is in the mood to kick up a sandstorm in the Bahrain desert. 

He conceded he would still need to "push the car to the limit" but is approaching the weekend with a spring in his step. "Bahrain is typically somewhere where we have gone well," he said this week.

"I do always enjoy going there so looking forward to seeing what this week brings and hopefully we can maximise the performance of the car as best we can."

Ferrari seek solutions

Far from being a stepping stone to greater things, Ferrari have endured a tricky time since Lewis Hamilton's inaugural win for the Scuderia in the Shanghai sprint last month.

A double disqualification for the seven-time champion and Charles Leclerc in the race in China was followed by a fourth place for Leclerc with Hamilton three spots further back last Sunday.

Ferrari's aim now is to eke out every ounce of performance