At the next round in Bahrain, both cars managed to get into the third part of qualifying for the first time since the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Sainz qualified in 7th and Norris in tenth, which later became P9, after Romain Grosjean received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Norris during qualifying. On race day, Sainz made a good start, making the jump on Kevin Magnussen, and was contesting for P5. However, Sainz would suffer front wing damage on lap 4 after making contact with Max Verstappen, and he had to pit as a result which dropped him to last place. He retired on the closing stages of the race with gearbox issues. Norris meanwhile would have a strong race, finishing P6, earning McLaren's first points of the season.