Why did Formula 1 need Audi so much that it was prepared to use 1.6l 4 cylinder engines to get them in?

If you saw the red button interview with Adrian Newey, he admitted that they were only going to use 1.6l engines to get Audi in and have now scrapped that since Audi backed out at the last minute.





Why would Audi be important enough to switch to 1.6l 4 cylinder turbos when all the engineers have said they were impossible to work with.|||It wasn't just Audi (which is really part of a group that includes Volkswagen, Porsche and Lamborghini too, it could have been an engine badged with any of these companies), but it was new manufacturers in general. F1 needs more manufacturers to provide more competitive racing, the way it is now with 4 manufacturers only is too little. The FIA tried to lure back companies such as BMW and Honda, and new ones such as Audi, with a smaller, cheaper and more efficient engine. However, the costs involved in designing and testing the new engines meant that no company was actually interested (in the end even three out of the four engine manufacturers already in F1 spoke against the idea), led those responsible to scrap the 4-cylinder engines in favour of V6 turbos. Now, whether or not the V6 turbo is better than the current V8 is debatable (even though they cost less and use less energy, they still reach the same top speed with the turbo, and some of F1's greatest battles between Prost, Senna, Mansell and Piquet were fought with V6 turbos in the 80s). One thing's for sure though, V6 turbos are far more suited for F1 than the flat-fours (which are too small even for Touring Cars let alone F1 "the pinnacle of motorsport").|||F1 wants more engine manufacturers to give the field more options to choose from and to progress the Sport. Also most engine manufactures have a limit on how many teams they provide engines to. Lastly it wasn't just Audi, Renault wanted 4 cylinder engines to as more closely aligns with their road cars, they even threatened to back out of the sport if 4 cylinders wasn't agreed on.|||I think they should go back to the 80's and give the teams options of either normally aspirated V12 or a turbo V6.|||4 cyl 1.6l sucks. lets just get these toyota corollas and honda civics into the f1 tracks if that's the way they want to run f1. FIA retards