The last race of the 1988 F1 season, the Australian Grand Prix, held little significance in the championship as the drivers were wrapped up when Ayrton Senna took the chequered flag in the penultimate contest of the season at Honda’s own racetrack in Japan, the Suzuka circuit. That race was won by Alain Prost, driving the other Honda, to give McLaren 15 wins out of the 16 contested, and a record of most wins by a team in a single season.
Honda’s last two-year F1 stint was rather forgettable — a couple of wins and a few podium finishes could never match up to the brilliance shown in the 1980s.
Honda will return to F1 as an exclusive engine supplier to McLaren as their works team in 2015. We do not know who will drive for McLaren-Honda, or how the competition will fare. What we do know is Honda is racing, and they wouldn’t return if they weren’t in it to win it.
