Jenson Button thrilled with Honda's return to F1

Former world champion Jenson Button was “thrilled” over his former employee Honda’s decision to come back to Formula One as McLaren’s chief engineer.

Button, who previously raced for the Japanese team, under various names, from 2003 to 2008 is glad they’re coming back into the pinnacle of engineering.

This time, Honda are making a comeback with their “world-beating technical innovation” team set to bring the new 1.6 lt turbocharged engines from 2015 onward.

Button, the 2009 world champion, said: “I’ve already enjoyed a long and successful working relationship with Honda.

“I first raced a Formula 1 car powered by a Honda engine in 2003, and I was a works Honda Formula 1 driver between 2006 and ’08, winning my first Grand Prix in Hungary in 2006 in a Honda Formula 1 car, so I know exactly how passionate Honda is about motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular.

“The challenge set by Formula 1′s new technical regulations provides Honda with the perfect opportunity to return to the pinnacle of motorsport.

“Honda is one of the most experienced and accomplished builders of turbocharged engines anywhere in the world, has always treated Formula 1 as a platform for world-beating technical innovation, and will surely relish the opportunity once again to showcase on a global sporting stage its engine technicians’ unparalleled engineering prowess.“

The McLaren man won his world champion in the Brawn GP team, a team bought by Ross Brawn after Honda decided to quit at the end of 2008. That team went on to become Mercedes GP the following year and Button left the team for Mclaren.