Grand prix hosts threatened to switch to IndyCar events
Every formula one race promoter except China and Korea signed a letter by Australian organizer Ron Walker saying they would drop F1 and instead host IndyCar events if the FIA did not do a u-turn over the controversial engine plan.
The letter was received by the governing body on Wednesday, a day before the four-cylinder plan was voted down by the F1 Commission in favor of V6 turbos in 2014.
But reports after that London meeting suggested that F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone still wants F1 to have loud V8 engines.
The UK Express quoted Walker as saying loud engines are crucial to F1's appeal, and that the FIA's proposed alternatives would sound "like a tin can rattling".
"We are not going to have our customer base destroyed," added the Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman. "I told them that the circuits would not run it.
"The sound is part of the brand," he insisted.
It is an interesting time in F1 politically, with the Independent on Sunday quoting Williams chairman Adam Parr as admitting the teams want to own a stake in the sport.
"The teams have discussed the possibility," he said. "It would be great for us to have a significant stake, though I don't think we should control the commercial rights.
"We could work alongside Bernie and someone like CVC," he said.