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The Spirit of '83: Honda's first return

Honda's first Formula 1 return was very different to its 2015 reunion with McLaren. On the eve of the Japanese giant's latest comeback, GARY WATKINS tells the story of Spirit and Honda's turbo babysteps

Gary Watkins Mar 12, 2015, 11:02 PM

Suppose Honda was re-entering grand prix racing this season with Marussia rather than McLaren. Or supplying engines to a team plucked from GP2. That would be an unlikely scenario today, but it was the kind of low-key approach that the Japanese manufacturer chose 32 years ago.

It didn't sign up with a grandee of the grid to end its 14-year absence from Formula 1, but promoted one of its existing squads from the lower formulae and only turned up mid-season with what was little more than a modified Formula 2 car.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.