Alain Prost sure Honda will succeed in return to F1 with McLaren

Ahead of Honda's 2015 tie-up with McLaren, Prost believes the manufacturer has done the right thing in renewing links with the team that it enjoyed so much success with in the past.

"It's not like having a [completely] new team for Honda; I think it's normal they make this kind of agreement with McLaren," Prost told AUTOSPORT.

"That was the team where they can do it.

"It will be quite interesting. Can they be competitive already in the first year? It's difficult to know, but it's going to work, I'm sure."

Prost used Honda power to win the 1989 F1 title during his own time as a McLaren driver.

And he thinks the shared history that the team and car manufacturer have had in the past will help fast track their push to the front of the grid.

"Having this kind of history is always a good thing - you have the credibility and a bit of experience, even if the people aren't the same and it's a new generation," said Prost.

"You know already each other, and especially with this new technology it's not going to be a [different] responsibility between chassis and engine.

"It's going to be all together immediately, [and] the fact they have worked together already [will help].

"Ron [Dennis] knows very well the Japanese mentality, and the team knows the Japanese mentality, which is not easy. That is a big advantage."

Honda endured a difficult end to its last stint in F1, finishing a lowly ninth in the 2008 constructors' championship with its factory team.

It pulled out of the sport altogether at the end of that season as a result of the worldwide financial crisis, with its former team going on to win the 2009 world title under Ross Brawn's control.