PWP: The Strategist aims for a quality Qatar return

After picking up a strong 20 points at the Japanese Grand Prix, ‘The Strategist’ hopes to keep their recent upward momentum.

However, it won’t be simple for our Grove guru as the Qatar Grand Prix, with its high temperatures, new surface, strong winds and solo practice session, will make it a hard race to call.

Currently ranked P51 with 265 points, The Strategist will be looking to continue their charge up the standings this weekend.

Keep reading to see what they are predicting for Lusail and why…

Lap 11-20. I predict we’ll see a two-stop race and with a 57-lap race ahead of us on Sunday, so the first stop window should drop neatly into the second bracket.

Lap 11-20. I think Logan will come into the pits around the same window as Alex. Pirelli have brought the hardest compounds in their range to Lusail, the same range we saw in Suzuka last time out.

Alex Albon. More often than not this season, it has been Albono who has peeled into the pits first during races. That was true again in Suzuka, but it was completely unforced, so let’s hope for some cleaner opening exchanges this time.

P11-P15. With our Quali spots locked in, there is some legroom for us to filter up the order should we make moves on track, or if those ahead of us pit earlier.

5+. With mandated 18-lap maximum stint, Qatar should be a 3-stop race minimum for each driver.

One. There wasn’t a single Safety Car deployment in the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, but conditions look very different this weekend, so we might see my good friend, Bernd Mayländer, take to the track on Sunday.

I predict Alex will end his race on the medium compound. I don’t think we’ll see much soft tyre running during the race, so a medium, hard, medium strategy may be the most common option up and down the pit lane.

Similarly, I feel Logan will also finish on the medium compound.