through the fast corners, so I struggled a lot. Sebring is not a track that you want to go fast on when you don’t know it. So I was just doing my normal adaptation and it wasn’t going so bad.
In the end at Sebring when I was doing the last stint, I was getting comfortable and pushed hard, especially giving the Porsches some trouble. Where you sit is different and as with each car, you get in a different way and have the steering wheel in a different position.
You feel a lot more comfortable in the car because the ride is softer over the bumps. In the Audi R8, I could feel less, because the car was rolling too much. It is not a monocoque chassis, so you can really feel it and there is a lot more weight.
Somehow, I have a good connection with the Audi R8, because I don’t drive it that often, but when I go in the car, I can be on the pace from the beginning.
With regards to DTM also being heavily based on aerodynamics as well, that seems to have helped make the transition for you a lot easier to the R18. You’re now a part of a new tam, but in your career, you’ve been in that situation before. What was the biggest thing that surprised you when you got behind of the LMP car?
Straightaway, I really felt comfortable in the car. I went to Abu Dhabi, didn’t know the track, but I was spot on. I felt good in it, even though you cannot compare the car in terms of pace.
The big thing that I like is that it is a lot smaller inside compared to the RS5 DTM I drove last year, so for a guy like me, it’s fantastic. Because it is a small cockpit, you’re actually closer to the middle.
When I went to test the car itself, all the mechanics looked at me as if to say “Where are you going?” when I went to the wrong side for the roll out I took part in. It just came natural for me to do that, but when I sit in the
Filipe Albuquerque
Image Audi Motorsport