Heading into the campaign, Stella and Zak Brown made no secret of the fact their car had missed development targets and would struggle in the early stages.
However, the pair also reassured fans that work was happening behind the scenes with an “aggressive” development programme in train.
That coincided with a restructuring of the technical department following Stella’s appointment as team principal, the Italian having taken the role following the resignation of Andreas Seidl.
Stella split the technical department into their pillars, focussing on aerodynamics, mechanical, and concept/performance.
It’s a change that has been credited with playing a significant part in the Woking squad’s revival.
“I think in 2023, we can identify four phases for McLaren,” he told Speedcafe as part of the KTM Summer Grill.
“The first one is the start of the season in which we were not competitive. It was a struggle to score points on merit.
“We kind of knew that it would have been a difficult start to the season.”
“The good think in Formula 1, if you want, is that it’s a sport, but is a measured sport, especially in terms of the element that makes most of the difference, which is actually the car,” he added.
“There’s a part of the difference made by the drivers, which is essential, but actually, the category for what you can compete is determined by the car. Within this complex category, the driver can make the difference.
“And we knew the numbers over the winter would not have been good enough at the start of the season to compete for the high positions on the grid.
“We looked at the situation, we tried to analyse what needed to be improved. We took an approach to the team evolution which meant we looked at 360 degrees as to what was required to develop.
“This process is ongoing. Formula 1 never stops in terms of constant evolution.
“But anyhow, first phase, we knew we would not be competitive.
“Then, thanks to the changes, we ended up with a good upgrade in Austria, which was phase two – we were able now to compete for good points and, occasionally, for podiums.”
The Austrian upgrade was the key turning point for McLaren, with Lando Norris delivering fourth at the Red Bull Ring that weekend.
He backed that up with second at the British Grand Prix a week later, while Oscar Piastri only narrowly missed out on third due to an ill-timed Safety Car.
But the year wasn’t done, and McLaren continued to develop and witnessed what Stella terms “phase three” at the Singapore Grand Prix, where McLaren confirmed its role as a podium contender.
“But then, phase four is what I see end of season, in which Formula 1, once again, you get the evidence that if you don’t develop, and we didn’t develop the car after Singapore, the others kind of catch up.
“This is the phase four of the 2023 season.”
McLaren ended the year fourth in the constructors’ championship, having sat last in that competition after the opening round of the year.
That included a run of four events where Norris or Piastri finished second, from Singapore to the United States, including two double podiums in Japan and Qatar – the latter witnessing Piastri claiming pole and victory in the F1 Sprint.
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