V6 engine rules ’good compromise’ - Lauda

Niki Lauda has hailed formula one’s change of engine regulations for 2014.

The sport’s governing body initially wanted the current normally-aspirated 2.4 litre V8 engines to be replaced in 2013, but ultimately ceded to pressure to agree turbo V6 rules that will make their debut a year later.

"It’s a good solution, saving fuel but also preserving performance," triple world champion Lauda told the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten.

"Four cylinder would have been nonsense, so the six cylinder is a good compromise," he added.