Peugeot drivers in awe of Audi pace

The French cars appeared to be faster than the R10s in practice and qualifying, but Audi's race pace has been far superior, and the German squad are currently running first and second.

The race is not even at half distance yet, but Peugeot's drivers have said that they won't be able to win the race unless the Audis hit trouble.

"We don't have the speed to race them," said Jacques Villeneuve. "If we all run without problems, we can't catch them."

Villeneuve added that he also didn't expect the No. 16 Pescarolo to offer a genuine threat to Peugeot in a straight fight, though, while Sebastien Bourdais echoed the Canadian's remarks about Audi.

"Audi kept their cards close to their chest," said Bourdais. "They are so much faster than us on the straights. They can just drive past us, and there is nothing we can do."

The No. 7 Peugeot is currently three laps down in third place, while the No. 8 car is running sixth after losing time with a wheel bearing problem.