The new Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda relationship, which is of great importance for the future of the Japanese manufacturer in F1. One thing is fairly certain, if the engines are not a success there is a strong likelihood that Honda will pull out of Formula 1 fairly quickly.
The company has already suffered a huge amount of negative publicity as a result of its failed partnership with McLaren. Toro Rosso will be less in the public eye, but it will give Honda the chance to show its pace. And while some believe that Honda will link up with Red Bull if the engines are good, others say that Honda is vary wary of dealing with the Milton Keynes team, because of its troubled relationship with Renault in the past. The Japanese do not want to be associated with a company that claims success as its own, while failure is blamed on partners.
The most likely scenario if the Honda engine is good is that the Japanese will buy an existing operation, the obvious choice being Force India (or whatever it is called). This will give the Japanese the chance to control their own future, while using a team that has proven to be successful and efficient. Some Honda money and improved facilities could turn the team into a real powerhouse, after which the troubled years will be forgotten, just as the troublesome period between 1983 and 1985 was forgotten when Honda became the dominant force with McLaren at the end of the decade.
The Honda board of directors is rumoured to have come very close to shutting down the programme last year and so the engineers in Japan know that their heads are on the chopping block. The improvement seen by McLaren in the course of the year was impressive, despite the decision to split, and so Honda is likely to be a focus for rumours in the months ahead. CEO Takahiro Hachigo is keeping the pressure on, as he tries to revive the company.
Source: JSNL
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