One of the greatest partnerships that F1 has ever seen is set to return for the 2015 season as Honda once again becomes McLaren’s engine supplier.
If you can remember back to the racing days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost then you’ll remember the incredibly successful partnership that McLaren and Honda had. That’s the car pictured above.
From 1988 to 1991 the McLaren/Honda partnership won four consecutive world drivers titles with Senna winning in ’88, ’90 and ’91 and Prost winning in ’89.
In fact, in 1988 the team won 15 of the 16 races during the season making it the most successful year for a single team in F1 history.
Honda’s own racing ream, Honda F1, dropped out of F1 back in 2009 after a spate of poor results, but their return to the sport comes as new F1 regulations on engines are introduced.
Speaking about the move, Honda President and Company Director Takanobu Ito said, “Honda has a long history of advancing our technologies and nurturing our people by participating in the world’s most prestigious automobile racing series.
“The new F1 regulations with their significant environmental focus will inspire even greater development of our own advanced technologies.”
As for McLaren, their team principle Martin Whitmarsh said, “”The names of McLaren and Honda are synonymous with success in Formula 1, and, for everyone who works for both companies, the weight of our past achievements together lies heavily on our shoulders.
“But it’s a mark of the ambition and resolve we both share that we want once again to take McLaren-Honda to the very pinnacle of Formula 1 success. Together we have a great legacy – and we’re utterly committed to maintaining it.”
It’s sure to be an interesting move and hopefully we’ll see the same success that the partnership was able to produce in the past.
