BARRETTO: McLaren’s turnaround has been spectacular – but can they now push on to challenge Red Bull?

As turnarounds go, McLaren have pulled off one of the all-time great ones. After two rounds this year, the British team were pointless with a car that was so slow, it struggled to get out of the first section of qualifying.

Shoulders were down, morale had been dented. Even if they knew there would be early season pain – having changed development direction for the 2023 car late last year forcing them to start this year’s campaign with a compromised car – it’s one thing to expect discomfort, quite another to cope with it when it comes.