Honda, Willis agree to part company

As exclusively revealed by autosport.com, Willis was on gardening leave after Honda announced Shuhei Nakamoto had been promoted to the role of senior technical director before this year's Canadian Grand Prix.

Now the team and Willis have finally reached an agreement that will see the Briton leaving the Japanese squad.

"Geoff has made an invaluable technical contribution to the development of our team over the last five years, leading to our second place in the F1 Constructors' Championship in 2004 and of course contributing towards the momentous occasion of our first win in Hungary two weeks ago," said team boss Nick Fry.

"His unwavering focus on the quality of our engineering and the introduction of robust engineering processes has provided foundations that will stand the team in good stead for years to come and pave the way for future success.

"I would like to thank Geoff both personally and from all our team. We wish him every success in the future."

Willis added: "The last five years with the team has been a very challenging but rewarding time for me. It has also been a period of great change for the team and I would like to thank all of my colleagues who have helped to set and achieve new standards and establish the team as a technology leader in Formula One.

"It has been a great pleasure and an education to work with such an enthusiastic and capable group of people and I wish them every success in the future."