Dr. Ullrich: “There were signs.”

Did you expect this announcement?

It was a surprise for everyone. Afterwards, if we look at the previous weeks, there were signs. On two occasions, I presented future prospects to the steering committee. But, in the end, I understood that the decision was irrevocable and that there was no point in insisting. From there, it's up to me to make sure it's done as cleanly as possible and I'm getting on with it. We had no team Formula e and part of the troops working on the hybrid in LM P1 will be transferred there. Many will work on our production cars.

Why, in 1998, Audi chose to launch into Endurance ?

… After long discussions, the choice fell on Le Mans. For what ? Because it is the most difficult and most famous race in the world. We felt this was the best place to promote our brand. At that time, the winner covered more kilometers in twenty-four hours than a Formula 1 in one season. And sometimes with a higher average speed. Faster and longer with a single car, a single engine and a single gearbox was clearly more interesting.

Do you have any regrets?

We cannot speak of regrets, but the dark side remains Michele's accident (Alboreto, died on April 25, 2001 during a test session conducted by Audi on the Lausitzring, in Germany. Editor's note). We might wonder why we didn't think about installing pneumatic pressure sensors sooner. This accident pushed us to develop and then install this technology that no one used except theIndyCar, in a very different form, on ovals…

Discover the full interview with Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich in issue 2094 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.