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I think it goes back to the Acura issues. Acura had to use basically the same tires f/r, because Michelin never really made purpose-built fronts. The problem there is that once up to temperature, the front's offered excellent grip. But that was the problem--it took forever to get up to temperature.
The rear tires are designed to have a construction that mostly has to stand up to torsion incorporated into them by the rear axle. Front tires have to have more flex in the sidewalls to heat up and to deal with the transverse torsion that the steering subjects them too. The Acura's "front" tires lacked that give, which had the effect of a lack of damping (even low profile LMP tires act like a spring), as well as the ability to function properly.
It's easy to believe that Audi had similar issues, and that they'll hopefully be solved with purpose made wide front tires. As I said, maybe the zero-keel front suspension works better with wider front tires, as the R15 has a lot of weight up front as well, similar also to the Acura (and applies to the new cars, as with the shorter wheelbases and more compact engines, the weight will automatically move forward).
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