The reigning drivers’ and constructors’ champions arrived in Florida under pressure after a difficult start to the year, including a double non-start for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in China and an early pace deficit to Mercedes.
But McLaren showed clear signs of progress in Miami after introducing its first major upgrade package of the season, with Norris winning the sprint before the pair secured second and third in the grand prix.
Despite cautioning against looking too far ahead in the championship fight, Stella said the team must focus on continuing to develop its car.
“I think if we now start to consider championships at the end of the season, then I think we need to be a bit careful because we are just at the fourth race,” Stella explained.
“We have just delivered our first upgrade, we are in Miami and McLaren looks like they traditionally have done very well in Miami, so it could be that the way we develop our cars kind of suits this circuit, so we will have to see more.
“But at the same time, because it’s only the fourth race and we have scored a good chunk of points even compared to Mercedes, we know that we can further develop our car.”
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Mercedes has dominated the opening phase of the 2026 campaign, with Kimi Antonelli winning three races and George Russell also claiming victory as the Silver Arrows built a commanding lead in both championships.
McLaren currently sits third in the constructors’ standings behind Mercedes and Ferrari, but Stella said the team’s long-term focus has not changed, particularly given the strength of its driver line-up.
“We have said already before Miami that the championship is not a sign-off, so our logic is to look at the long term, try and defend the championship, but as soon as we say that, we come back in the present and we do the right thing today because there’s really not much point in thinking so far forward, but definitely we want to defend the championship,” he said.
“At the same time, I think we have seen for McLaren that in Japan, with a car that wasn’t competitive yet, Oscar was in condition to fight for the win again and score a podium.
“Oscar, confirming a podium finish here [in Miami], and Lando, one win in the sprint and in the fight for the victory here.
“I think when we look in particular at the constructors’ championship, I think we are, from a driver’s point of view, probably the strongest pair.
“We want to capitalise on this strength that we have at McLaren, but we need to make the car a little bit faster.”
Further upgrades may already be on the horizon, with McLaren also evaluating the rotating rear wing concept recently introduced by Ferrari and Red Bull.
Ferrari first trialled the design, often referred to as the ‘Macarena’ wing, during pre-season testing before expanding its use in China and Miami, while Red Bull also debuted its own version as part of a significant upgrade package in Florida.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown admitted the team had been closely monitoring the development and suggested a similar concept could eventually appear on the MCL40.
“We have,” Brown told Sky F1 in Miami when asked if McLaren had analysed the rotating rear wing designs.
“As you can imagine, all the teams look at what each other do.
“It’s clever and we think it could be beneficial, so not surprised to see another team using it.”
Brown said he also believed the field was rapidly converging after the latest round of upgrades.
“They’ve been quick all weekend, so they’ve got some great development on the car,” Brown said of Red Bull.
“Obviously [there’s] the Ferrari and then the Mercedes, so you have your top four.
“If you look at the lap times now compared to Australia, the whole field is starting to get consolidated.
“So I think in not too short order, we’ll be back to where we were with a very competitive, tight grid.”
McLaren sits third in the constructors’ championship on 94 points after four rounds, 16 points behind Ferrari and 86 adrift of Mercedes.
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