One of the least surprising announcements of the Formula 1 year has been made, confirming that Honda will return to the sport as McLaren's engine partner from 2015. The rumours of recent weeks were indeed just too strong to be dismissed as idle speculation.
This news is significant from a few different perspectives. First of all, it is encouraging news for F1, suggesting that the new turbo formula, with its supplementary technical innovations, may attract (and help to retain) manufacturers .Honda is one of those companies which seems to have racing in its DNA, and which does not stay away for very long, seeing the benefits as going deeper than purely shifting more units in the afterglow of a Grand Prix victory. Now that Honda has taken the plunge, will the interest of other car-makers be stimulated? Much may depend on how people view the economic outlook going forward.
Another interesting sub-text to all this is that the announcement has been made at a time when McLaren, by common consent, is in the competitive doldrums. The news will undoubtedly come as a major fillip for the team, but it will also in its own way serve as a reminder of the level of performance needed to justify Honda's faith (and investment). People might say that this new arrangement is far removed in several respects from the mighty McLaren-Honda steamroller of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but enough of the culture and ethos of both organisations will have been passed down to echo past glories, and help to assuage any misgivings.
The news also arrives at a juncture when the "honeymoon" period engendered by the exciting and competitive racing of recent times is coming to an end, and it is once again becoming fashionable to decry and malign Formula 1. This boost may just concentrate a few minds.
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