You traveled directly from the Red Bull Ring in Austria to the WEC round at São Paulo. How did your first DTM test go?

It was a great experience for which I’m very thankful to Audi. I was at the Red Bull Ring for the first time. The RS 5 DTM is a fascinating car. I felt like I was at home after just a short time. It didn’t take long to ease my way toward the limit. The DTM is a series at the highest level and obviously the RS 5 DTM requires a special driving technique. It’s a shame that the constant weather changes thwarted our plans. The comparison of the times is hardly conclusive. Still, the test was an extremely positive experience.

In your career you grew up with formula cars and have been driving sports cars for a year. By comparison, how does a DTM race car feel?

I think that there’s no other touring car category anywhere in the world that resembles an LMP sports car as much as the DTM race car does. The RS 5 DTM produces a lot of downforce and is relatively light as well. Its braking power is absolutely astonishing. Thanks to the carbon brakes and the downforce you can brake very late and the car remains stable. It was nice to see that Mattias Ekström and I basically share the same views regarding the car. Our driving techniques and the feedback to the engineers were very similar.

Does your future lie in the DTM?

No, because one of the reasons for me to take the wheel was that rookies are allowed to test as well – and in the DTM car I’m a rookie of course. I’ve got a mid-term contract with Audi and I fully identify with the LMP program for which I’m scheduled again next year. I hope that with my combination of Formula 1 and LMP experience and my feedback I was able to assist my DTM colleagues a tiny bit – even though everybody knows that excellent drivers and outstanding personnel, who know exactly what they’re doing without me, are under contract in Audi’s DTM program.

Source : Audi