Audi ill-suited to Silverstone layout, says Lotterer

Audi enters the 2016 campaign with a brand new R18 e-tron quattro, having missed out on both the WEC title and Le Mans victory last year for the first time since the series' inception in 2012.

However, Lotterer still expects last year's benchmark team Porsche to be at front in 2016, and says his team could struggle at Silverstone despite winning there last year owing partly to the track layout.

"The car feels good, it's just there is a lot going on outside of the driving, the car is still a bit young for us and some tracks are also better than others," the German told Motorsport.com.

"It used to be a good place for us here, but now in the 6MJ [category] with just one MGU, it’s a track that’s difficult to reach your targets [for energy retrieval].

"There aren't enough braking zones, especially now with the power reduction - a stronger hybrid [system] means even more because the influence of a bigger hybrid, percentage-wise is more.

"So when you lose momentum from the hybrid, you just rely on your combustion engine, and there's a lot less power than last year."

While Lotterer's #7 was more than four seconds behind the pace-setting Porsche in the first Friday practice, the sister car was 2.6s quicker.

With the gap not shrinking in the second session either, Lotterer expects Audi to be battling Toyota for 'best of the rest' at Silverstone.

"I see the Porsches in the front unfortunately but Toyota and us could be on the same level," he added.

"Here and Spa will not be the best for us, but hopefully at Le Mans we will be on level with the leaders."

Interview by Jamie Klein