Ralf Schumacher happy with DTM debut

Ralf Schumacher made his DTM debut at Hockenheim yesterday. The German finished 14th, passing two cars on the track and one during one of his pitstops. Despite the modest finishing position the previous Formula One-star was happy with his debut.
“Altogether, I’m rather happy. I didn’t make any mistakes and my lap times also were okay. I could match the pace of the top Mercedes cars but Audi was just slightly more competitive, this weekend,” said Schumacher to DTM.de.

Is the hype around you getting on your nerves?
I think it will decrease. If it helps the series it’s okay and I’m happy to be a part of it. And it also is helpful for me.

The season will be continued as early as next Sunday, at Oschersleben. What do you expect from round two?
I think it will be a little more relaxed, there. The schedule won’t be quite as tight as it was here. But that’s what you had to expect to witness on the first race weekend of the season. It’s the first time that I’m here at Hockenheim and Hockenheim always attracts a huge crowd. And I want to thank the many supporters: It was great.

In which areas will you have to work the hardest?
We must try to gain positions in qualifying. This time, it would have been enough if I had been some hundredths of a second faster. But Oschersleben is a completely other circuit and we will have to wait and see how I’m going to do, there. Okay, I’ve already tested, there, but contesting a race is something completely different.

What makes the difference between you and drivers such as Gary Paffett who also races a 2007-spec car but finished clearly ahead of you?
If you have done something year by year, you just get behind the wheel and know what you’ve got to do. While I still am working on finding myself, in the DTM car. And the only way to succeed in doing so is to progress step by step.