Di Grassi: Don’t judge Audi’s Le Mans chances on Silverstone form

Audi's R18 e-tron quattro has been totally redesigned over the winter, and moves up into the 6MJ hybrid class in 2016. But that is still one level below the hybrid category that Porsche runs in.

Speaking ahead of the Silverstone WEC opener this weekend, di Grassi thinks that the dominant Porsche 919 will remain the car to beat in the early stages of the season at least, but that Le Mans could be a different story.

In first practice, di Grassi was the top Audi, 1.735s off the quickest Porsche time.

“We might be behind at Silverstone and not at Le Mans,” said di Grassi. “The concepts between the diesel and the petrol are very different. At the moment, I’m confident that we have a much better car than last year, Audi has produced a state of the art machine.

“How the car is going to perform is a different matter, we’ll see this weekend. On the equivalence of technology, the diesel and petrol are more similar at Le Mans. All the other races, the more hybrid you have the better you are – the shorter the acceleration.

“On shorter tracks, the regular WEC circuits, the higher hybrid has more benefit. At Le Mans, if there is one race we’re able to challenge them, it will be Le Mans. That’s how the regulations are.”

Audi builds “complex and advanced” car

Di Grassi believes that Porsche’s strategy of evolving its 919 will offer them greater reliability prospects at the start of the year, but that Audi’s new car will have the potential to push them hard as the season evolves.

“For sure, the new Audi is the nicest racecar I’ve driven in my life in terms of the technology,” he added. “We’ve built a fantastic car: so complex, so advanced. Now we need to see if it’s going to be enough or not, and how we do over 24 hours.

“We’ve been testing, evaluating and fixing everything – I have 100 percent trust in Audi to make sure the car is the best it can be for the start of the season, and especially for Le Mans.

“Porsche is in the front seat, but Toyota and Audi are there to fight and try to take them down. They are the ones to beat – our target is Porsche.”