Honda is returning to Formula One
Honda has recently confirmed that they will be rekindling their partnership with McLaren in order to return to Formula One, starting from 2015.
Honda left Formula One at the end of 2008 but it has been strongly rumored that they’d return for some time now.
Honda cited the recent shift to new technical regulations in Formula One from 2014, which will move from V8 engines to turbocharged 1.6-litre V6s complemented with energy recovery systems, as a key factor that motivated their decision to return to motorsport’s premier racing category.
Takanobu Ito – Honda president and CEO – said that Honda has grown since its establishment by taking on challenges in racing.
The company having a long history of advancing their technologies as well as nurturing their employees by participating in the globe’s most prestigious automobile racing series. The new regulations that F1 will enforce since 2014 – with their significant focus on environmental awareness – will only inspire greater development advances in Honda’s technologies, which is crucial to the company’s participation in F1, he continued to say.
The newly re-minted relationship with McLaren will bring an end to the McLaren-Mercedes partnership that started back in 1995.
The Japanese company operated its own factory team before it sold it to Ross Brawn, whose eponymous team Brawn GP got on to win the 2009 title with British driver Jenson Button.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the McLaren and Honda partnership had a very dominant period, including the almost legendary 1988 season when drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won fifteen of the sixteen races when powered by Honda engines.
Martin Whitmarsh – McLaren boss – mentioned the announcement was “fantastic news for everyone who loves Formula 1 to be able to welcome Honda back to Formula 1”.
This will definitely prove to be an exciting time for both Honda and McLaren in the new Formula One system, we’ll keep an eye on what happens in the near future and report back.
