On the three occasions Honda has entered F1 before, it has reached the top step of the podium at least once before leaving.
One victory was the bare minimum its board demanded when it chose to return for a fourth time in 2015 with McLaren - but it aimed to achieve so much more, particularly given its success with the British team the last time they joined forces in the late 1980s and early '90s.
Honda struggled with performance and unreliability in the first year, improved marginally last term, then in pre-season testing for 2017 it became clear it had gone backwards. McLaren realised it needed to find a way out.