Honda Cars : Honda gears up for F1 return as engine supplier | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Honda Motor Co. is looking to return to Formula One motor racing as an engine supplier around 2015, a source said Monday.

Honda plans to supply new engines with small displacements, possibly teaming up with its former partner McLaren of Britain, the source said.

Honda withdrew from the F1 grid after 2008 in light of financial difficulties caused by the global financial crisis. The annual costs of joining the race are believed to have topped ¥40 billion at the time.

Honda will carefully assess the financial impact of returning to the sport before making a final decision, the sources said.

Honda, which first joined F1 in 1964, joined for a second stint from 1983 to 1992 and a third between 2000 and 2008.

During its second stint, Honda collected 69 victories under such talented drivers as Ayrton Senna da Silva, triggering an F1 boom in Japan.

The 2015 comeback would be the company’s fourth.

A comeback would likely allow Honda to use F1 technology in producing mass-market vehicles, since the race is set to make a switch in engine specifications to 1,600cc turbocharged V6s from 2,400cc V8s in 2014.

Honda plans to launch several new models around 2015.

Toyota Motor Corp. pulled out of F1 in 2009, leaving the sport devoid of Japanese automakers.

Earlier, vehicle makers Yamaha Motor Co. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. had also provided engines for F1 racing teams.

Source;
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/18/business/honda-gears-up-for-f1-return-as-engine-supplier/#.UUcfRjeReNo

Honda Cars : McLaren and Honda getting back together? | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

By Greg Stuart on 11 March 2013 in F1

 

The dream team from 1988-1992 could be reunited in 2015…

Between 1988 and 1992, McLarens powered by Honda engines won four Drivers’ titles – three for Ayrton Senna and one for Alain Prost – and the same number of Constructors’ championships.

Now the latest rumour going around the F1 paddock is that Honda could be back in F1 by 2015 and looking to provide engines to the team again.

Speaking to Autopsort magazine recently, McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh was non-committal about whether Mercedes-Benz would continue to provide the team’s engines beyond the 2014 season.

"We have a contract that covers the next three seasons at the moment and we will certainly go into next year [2014] with Mercedes-Benz,” said Whitmarsh.

"There is nothing to announce at the moment,” he added. “I can't elaborate any further.”

Whitmarsh’s comments were analysed by Autosport’s F1 Editor Edd Straw, who was unconvinced that the McLaren/Mercedes-Benz partnership would exist beyond 2014.

“That he specifically confirmed next season, but dodged the issue of 2015 is telling,” said Straw.

“While the dotting of the i’s and the crossing of the t's might be incomplete, both McLaren and Honda plan to renew their partnership on track in 2015,” he added.

Should the rumour turn out to be true, it would bring to an end one of the most established manufacturer/engine supplier relationships in the modern Formula One era.

Following Honda’s withdrawal from the sport at the end of the 1992 season, McLaren languished for several years, using uncompetitive engines from Ford and Peugeot as the Renault-powered cars of Benetton and Williams drove off into the distance.

Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula One as an engine supplier in 1995 and were initially used only by McLaren. Four seasons later, the partnership took its first Drivers’ title with Mika Hakkinen, and claimed the Constructors’ title in the same year. Another Drivers’ title followed a year later, with Lewis Hamilton adding a third in 2008.

The relationship has even continued onto the road, with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz having jointly developed the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren road car back in 2003.

But even though McLaren has seen its fair share of success using Mercedes-Benz power, there’s no doubt that a return to Honda engines, and the subsequent evocation of the Senna/Prost era, would make for a great story.

Source;
http://www.redbull.com/en/motorsports/f1/stories/1331583536261/mclaren-and-honda-getting-back-together-

Honda Cars : Honda could return to F1 | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Honda, who exited F1 in 2008, could yet return to F1 but only if rule changes prove to be attractive.

The Japanese manufacturer withdrew from the sport at the end of a dismal 2008 season, selling their F1 team to Ross Brawn.

Brawn GP, as the team was known, had immediate success, winning the 2009 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship.

However, Honda's withdrawal may not be permanent as Yoshiharu Yamamoto, the head of Honda R&D, says the door is never completely closed.

"On a personal level I love racing, but there is a lot involved when you are in F1 - it is the very top of auto racing and that requires a large commitment," Yoshiharu Yamamoto told Autocar.

"But it is true that we do look up at those races and hope that one day we can take part again.

"I do not personally think we can just go straight back immediately, but there is potential for the rules to change and attract us.

"I follow the rules, certainly, and if they present an opportunity then it would be nice to go back."
Yamamoto, though, was quick to point out that this was his "personal view - not that of Honda - but I feel the first thing we must do is win in the WTCC, and then perhaps we can look further afield."

Source;
http://www.sportlive.co.za/motorsport/2012/10/11/honda-could-return-to-f1

Honda Cars : Honda, McLaren Rumored to Join Forces in F1 Again | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

One of the most successful partnerships in the history of Formula 1 has to be the combination of a Honda engine in a McLaren chassis and body, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel. It was the perfect partnership which saw the team win many races and championships.

Over the last 16-years, McLaren has found much success by giving their driver’s Mercedes-Benz power. However, for the last two-years, Mercedes-Benz has been running its own F1 team and rumors started circulating that this will lead to an end to their relationship with McLaren, especially since Mercedes-Benz sold all its shares in McLaren back to the parent company.

With McLaren’s contract coming to an end in 2015 with Mercedes-Benz, much speculation has been circulating on the web and in the paddock as to who will supply engines to the Woking-based team in the future.

This has lead many to speculate that the McLaren-Honda relationship will once again be born, especially since turbo-charged engines are making their way back in Formula 1, and Honda was dominant in the last turbo-era in this sport.

However, McLaren’s managing director Jonathan Neale denies that there has been any contact with Honda. He stresses that McLaren is very well married to Mercedes-Benz for their engines and he sees this partnership continuing into the future.

As for rumors suggesting that Mercedes-Benz might not be giving McLaren its latest motors to give itself an advantage on the track, Neale says he doesn’t think “that’s a concern. ” He goes on to say, “Of course, Mercedes have their own GP team and it’s right and proper that a degree of focus is going to go in that direction, but I was just talking this morning with Thomas Fuhr at Mercedes-Benz – we speak frequently – and we want the same things. It’s in our interest to have consistent engines together because that’s how we get the highest quality.”

The last race of the 2011 F1 season takes place this weekend in Brazil at the Interlagos circuit.

Source;
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/11/honda-mclaren-rumored-to-join-forces-in-f1-again.html

Honda Cars : VW, Honda and Hyundai could enter F1 in 2013 | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Jean-Francois Caubet, CEO of Renault Sport F1, says more manufacturers could appear when turbo engines are reintroduced Chief Executive Officer of Renault Sport F1 has revealed that a further three car manufacturers could enter Formula One in 2013 when engine rules changes come into effect. Jean-Francois Caubet revealed that Volkswagen, Honda and Hyndai could start competing for motorsport’s biggest prize in the not so distant future. F1 ENGINES Caubet revealed that "Volkswagen, Honda, and Hyundai" would be interested in joining the sport once 1.6 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged engines replace the current 2.4 litre V8s. The move, initiated by President and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration Bernie Ecclestone, is aimed at increasing fuel efficiency by up to 50 percent while keep total power output at around 750bhp. Increasingly it seems, several car manufacturers have expressed renewed interest in the sport after a new generation of fuel restricted 'green' engines will make their debut in 2013. Currently, Renault Sport F1 supplies engines to Renault, Team Lotus, and Red Bull - who won the inaugural race of the 2011 Formula One season at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, under the expert guidance of its RB7 car by reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel. Source; http://www.manufacturingdigital.com/tags/honda/vw-honda-and-hyundai-could-enter-f1-2013

Honda Cars : Formula One: Honda eyeing return in 2013? | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

The hot rumor in the Formula One paddock this weekend at the Suzuka circuit in Japan says that Honda is evaluating a return to Grand Prix racing. The idea is that the Japanese manufacturer is interested in an F1 comeback as a result of the likely adoption of relatively small, turbocharged engines in 2013.

Honda quit Formula One at the end of the 2008 season, citing the sport's outrageous costs during the height of the global recession. It sold its U.K.-based team for a nominal sum to a management buyout led by Ross Brawn, who promptly masterminded a domination of the 2009 world championship.

The prospect of a fresh engine formula is attracting the attention of many automobile manufacturers, including Volkswagen Group's Audi and Porsche marques.

Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101008/F1/101009899

Honda Cars : Honda not considering F1 return - new CEO | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Even if the world economy rapidly recovers, Honda is not keen to return to formula one, the Japanese carmaker's new chief executive said on Monday.

Takanobu Ito has now succeeded former chief executive Takeo Fukui, who due to the global financial crisis decided to withdraw Honda from the sport and hand the Brackley team to its current owners headed by Ross Brawn.

"It was a real shame that we had to leave formula one," Ito is quoted as saying from Tokyo.
Financial considerations aside, he suggested F1 has become less attractive due to its regulatory restrictions.

"On the other hand, F1 is becoming less of a medium in which companies can test their various strengths and more of an event with mounting restrictions.

"There's little room for us to challenge new fields, so bearing in mind the current state of series, I don't think we have the desire to return, even if the economy improves," he added.

Meanwhile, given the withdrawal from the F1 calendar of Fuji Speedway, Ito said he did not know if Honda-owned Suzuka will take over as the new permanent host of the annual Japanese grand prix.

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/109071320453/honda-not-considering-f1-return--new-ceo