Two podiums in six rounds is the best start this programme has had, and it would be easy to arrive at the Harbour Circuit thinking the hard part is done. It is not. Street circuits punish anyone who is a little too comfortable.
You don’t win a street race in qualifying. You can lose it there, though.
Alex spent the week after Lakeside on the simulator with one job: braking references for turns 1, 4 and 11, the three places we lost the most time last year. The car is better on the brakes now than it was then, so the references have moved, sometimes by five metres.
The plan for the weekend is simple. Qualify in the top six, keep the tyres alive for the first stint and be there when it matters in the last ten laps.