McLaren finished fourth in the teams’ championship in 2023 after mounting an impressive recovery following a slow start.

But while the team made ground on-track, there was much taking place off it that will only this year begin to bear fruit.

That includes a new simulator and wind tunnel coming online, plus the arrival of key personnel.

“We want to do better,” Stella told Speedcafe on the KTM Summer Grill.

“The ingredients now have the potential to do better than fourth.

“It will be a long season, so we will see at the start of the season where we are.

“We are uncertain because we don’t know our competitors, how much they will be able to improve over the winter but if we take the 2023 season as an indication, after Austria, McLaren is the team that scored the most points after Red Bull.

“And Lando [Norris] is actually the driver that scored the most points after [Max] Verstappen.

“So it will be a terrific result to be able to confirm this second.”

In finishing fourth in 2023, McLaren overhauled Mercedes and Ferrari on track, who had proved the most consistent challengers to Red Bull Racing alongside Aston Martin, which dropped off the pace in the latter third of the year.

Mercedes edged Ferrari for second in the constructors’ championship, though the latter was the only team other than Red Bull Racing to win a race last season.

Both head into the new year with substantially new cars set to break cover when F1 goes pre-season testing next month.

“We know how ambitious Mercedes are, they say they’re going to change their car entirely. Certainly Ferrari are not happy to be third,” Stella noted.

“Formula 1 nowadays is so competitive. Even when I started in Formula 1 in 2000, it was Ferrari and McLaren.

“It was always a couple of cars in the mix, but now we have four teams that, at the start of the season, are equipped to win world championships.

“Not to forget obviously that Aston Martin, as well, they are certainly very equipped and capable from a technical, operational point of view.

“So it’s busy at the front of the grid. We hope to be in the trajectory that we are in 2023.

“Ultimately, I think that’s great for Formula 1. That’s great for the fans that they can see such a competitive sport.

“And I hope that in 2024 as well there will be more variety in winning races, and hopefully this variety will include McLaren, Lando, and Oscar.”