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In 1987 it was becoming increasingly difficult for McLaren to compete with major manufacturer-backed teams using, effectively, a privateer engine financed in-house by TAG and built by Porsche.

For 1988 McLaren had secured the use of the 1.5L V6 Honda turbo engines which since late in the 1985 season had been the best engine in Formula One.

The new Honda RA168E engines with 685 bhp (511 kW; 695 PS). However, there were concerns after the FIA introduced a fuel regulation for the turbo-powered cars of 150 litres for a race distance.

Honda's engine management team worked feverishly on the fuel consumption of the RA168E which was specially built for the reduction in turbo boost from 4.0 bar to 2.5 bar rather than upgrading the 1987 spec engine, trying to improve it in order to avoid embarrassing late-race retirements.

One feature of the MP4/4 was the driver's position. Due to the car's low-slung aerodynamics and the FIA safety rule which stated that the top of a driver's helmet had to be below an imaginary straight line drawn from the top of the roll bar to the top of the cowling, the drivers were required to be in a reclining position rather than in the conventional upright seating position of rival contemporary Grand Prix cars.

Senna had absolutely no problems with the seating position. Prost, being smaller, preferred to be slightly more upright, and because of his size, the team was able to accommodate this without modification.

This MP4/4 was added in the Red Bull Ring Update (v6.0.0) released of Dec 2017 and can be unlocked by earning 20 trophies in Campionato Scuderia Ferrari.