Alex: “The steps we have made are huge”

Three rounds down and we’ve enjoyed a better start than many were expecting. There’s still plenty of racing ahead of us and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in Baku next weekend.

It feels like a long time ago now, but when I think back to Bahrain, it still makes me very happy.

We started off the winter season a little pessimistic about where our results would place us, and this was reflected by many outside the team too.

We maximised absolutely everything that weekend and deservedly took away a point. To start the season off with a top 10 finish motivates everyone for the year ahead.

I was back in Grove the following day and when speaking to members of the team, you could sense the excitement in the room, not just because we were back racing, but because we were in the mix.

Jeddah was fine, right up until it wasn’t. It was a tough one to take, we’ve had some issues with our car and we needed to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.

Ultimately, the issue potentially compromised a points finish and we won’t get too many chances like that. As I said, it was a tough one to take.

The trip to Australia is always highly anticipated and it was pretty cool to see so many of you come out to see us. It’s really amazing to see the growth of the sport and the fanbase.

The people that were waiting to see us at the meet and greet were an excited, young demographic - very passionate as well.

We say it every year now, but the sport is really growing and every time you go to a race, you keep getting blown away by the interest in what we do.

On the track, we were outperforming the car and I was really happy with our pace across the three days.

It’s amazing to think about where we were last year compared to where we were this year, the steps we have made are huge. For whatever reason, Melbourne really showed that and I’m proud of that.

Now then, the crash. I’ll be truthful, I don’t really consider it a mistake. We went through the data and it’s obvious that there were a lot of factors that led up to the accident.

Now it’s about understanding them and not letting it happen again. But the spin itself was not something to kick myself too much about, of course, I was disappointed after the race, but time heals all wounds.

I don’t mind this break we currently find ourselves in, though it might have been nicer had it broken up some of the double and triple headers ahead of us. Weirdly, we’re still quite fresh after three races so I’d rather it have been a bit later on.

In terms of being in a rhythm, it hasn’t really changed anything. I’ve been able to get away and now I’m back in the simulator, getting ready for the races ahead. Plenty of sim work plus some training and the odd bit of marketing.

On the sim, we’re always going through ideas and development plans for the car and, as we’re still so early in the season, there are a lot of things going on.

There’s still a lot of discovery about the car so we’re just processing it all, giving advice and feedback about things like setup and development direction.

We’re about to start a run of 10 races in 14 weeks, so it’s important to get my preparation spot on.

Preparation comes down to a multitude of things, such as keeping an eye on your jet lag planning, eating well, monitoring your energy expenditure and simply taking care of yourself. That’s the truth of it.

From my first season in Formula 1 to where I am now, the biggest change I’ve made is that I have built a team around me, taking a lot of the outside noise away and allowing myself to focus on the racing, putting all my energy into that.

With so much racing between now and our next break in August, there’s plenty that can change. For us, I’d like to see us still in that midfield hunt, able to say that we’re in close contention for some more points.

I believe the collective aim is to not finish 10th in the constructors this year, and there looks to be a genuine battle for 8th, a position that I think is the goal.

If we can score points early on where there’s a bit more opportunity with tracks that suit us more, I’m confident we can do a good job.