Everyone and his dog seems to be convinced that a Honda engine deal is a one way ticket to success, the name evokes powerful emotions and much respect. Meanwhile, teams are actively beating a path out of Renault supply contracts and lambasting them in the media, I don't get this at all and when you look at the respective histories of the two organisations it remains just as confusing.
Honda came in first as a works team, after which they retired with a single victory, then came back as an engine supplier where they scored 6 successive constructors titles and 5 drivers titles with Williams and McLaren.
They left Again, coming back as a supplier with Mugen Honda branding where they scored 4 race wins then with BAR (no wins) before returning as a works team where they scored a single victory and left the sport.
Renault came in as a works team too but tread their own path and introduced the game-changing turbo engine to the grid, won 15 races and finished 2nd in the constructors title (to a team widely acknowledged to be running illegal fuel).
They returned as an engine supplier with Williams and Bennetton and again tread their own path with a soon to be widely adopted V10 format when the big names were running V12's. They won 6 constructors titles and 5 drivers titles . They didn't chase outright horsepower as was the fashion but pursued fuel economy, lightness, driveability, cooling and packaging efficiency, pushing chassis integration to new highs, the rest of the grid again followed suit.
They came back again as a constructor, again on their own terms with an unfashionably wide angle V10 engine, 2 more drivers titles, and constructors titles followed.
They then returned as a supplier with Red Bull, a conventional engine this time but still, 4 more constructors titles and drivers titles followed with Lotus and Williams also enjoying a strong season each with their engines.
They have succeeded in every era of their involvement bar one, where they finished 2nd to a dubious rival. They have changed the direction of the sport at every involvement bar one, they have 12 constructors titles, 11 drivers titles and 168 race wins to Hondas 6 constructors titles, 5 drivers titles and 72 race wins. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, Honda have never introduced game changing technology to the sport even in their most dominant years.
So why are Honda seen as F1 heros, guaranteed to succeed, whilst Renault gets a public beating from its customers after 1 bad season (in which they still won 3 races and finished 2nd in the constructors title....) and teams are running to get away from them?
Edited by Boing 2, 22 November 2014 - 18:39.