Honda have confirmed they will return to Formula 1 in 2015 as engine suppliers to McLaren. Honda president Takanobu Ito and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh made the announcement in Tokyo on Thursday. Ito said: "We shall act as McLaren-Honda."

After pulling out of F1 after years of poor results, Honda has decided to return because of 2014's introduction of turbo engines featuring energy recovery technology. Described as a "multi-year Formula 1 technology partnership", honda have confirmed that its 2015 V6 turbocharged engine is already under development at its R&D facility in Tochigi.

McLaren has a contract with Mercedes with options for the team to renew for 2014 and 2015. McLaren will now only take up the first of those options.

"It's fantastic news for everyone who loves Formula 1 to be able to welcome Honda back," said Whitmarsh. "For everyone that works for the company, the weight of our past achievements lies heavily on our shoulders. During the 80s and the 90s, McLaren and Honda won 44 grands prix and eight world championships. Together in 1988 we created the most successful Formula 1 car of all time, the McLaren-Honda MP4/4 which was driven to victory 15 times out of 16 by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Honda has an unrivalled pedigree as a manufacturer of turbocharged engines, making it the perfect engine partner for McLaren as we strive to deliver future success in F1."