Honda’s withdrawal from the Formula One World Championship with almost immediate affect has come as a massive shock to the Grand Prix circus. The company’s decision to leave the sport was made swiftly having only been seriously considered for the first time at the end of November. The global financial crisis that is forcing Honda to slash jobs and close factories worldwide is the reason for their departure.

It is not the first time that Honda has left Grand Prix racing behind because the world’s most prolific engine maker has come in and out of the sport over the past forty years.

Soichiro Honda founded the Japanese company in 1948 and always made sure that his machines were involved in motorsport. Soichiro was a racing fan from a very young age and when the Honda Motor Company first start building cars in addition to bikes he fulfilled his dream of entering Formula One.

Honda made an arrangement to supply F1 engines to Lotus for the 1964 season, but the British team pulled out of the deal at the last minute. Honda had already built their own rough test car in order to get some miles on their engine, so figured they could enter that in a few races before launching a more serious challenge in 1965. They purposely hired a poorly known driver named Ronnie Bucknum so that any success would be attributed to the car, and any failure would be attributed to Ronnie.

It wasn’t a great start for Honda because their car was unreliable and they failed to score any points during their first year. However, their engine was the most powerful on the grid and the car was certainly quick. It’s easier to make a fast car reliable than it is to make a reliable car fast, and Honda scored their first F1 victory at the end of their second season. It was only their 11th race.

Ferrari refugee, John Surtees, joined the team and claimed a handful of podiums and another victory for Honda in the years that followed.

The team always pushed the envelope of possibility from an engineering perspective, and in 1968 they constructed an experimental air-cooled car that was made from magnesium. Although it was highly innovative, the design proved dangerous and Jo Schlesser was killed when the car crashed and exploded into flames just three laps into its Grand Prix debut. As a result of the horrific accident, which could partially be put down to the car’s construction, Honda announced their withdrawal from the sport. They did so despite putting a massive effort at the end of 1968 into their car for the following year.

Sounds familiar.

The company was not finished with Formula One though and returned in the 1980’s as an engine supplier determined to claim the World Championship. They teamed up with Williams and McLaren to win eleven out of a possible twelve championships (drivers and constructors) between 1986 and 1991.

At the end of 1992, Honda shocked the F1 world by announcing they would be leaving the sport with immediate effect.

Sounds familiar.

Honda returned once again in 1999 with the RA099, a prototype car that was scheduled to make its race debut the following year. The vehicle was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite but the legendry F1 figure died of a heart attack during one of its early test runs and the project was subsequently aborted. Honda still made their comeback to F1, but did so in the form of an engine deal with BAR. This lasted for five years until Honda bought the team outright.

Despite their best efforts, the team has slipped into an unfortunate decline and has scored just 20 points in the past two years. That is a far cry from the 119 points scored in 2004 alone.

Despite the poor results of late, Friday’s announcement from Japan was hugely surprising because Honda have always been one of the teams least likely to leave F1. They have a very rich motorsport heritage and their Grand Prix involvement is not just a part of their marketing regime, but a part of the company’s culture. Soichiro Honda famously once said “If Honda does not race, there is no Honda.”

Their commitment to motorsport has always been rock solid.

It is worth remembering that at the start of this year Honda was actively supporting not one, but two, Formula One teams. Although Super Aguri collapsed partway through the season the fact they existed at all is proof that Honda have always wanted to be an integral part of Grand Prix racing.

This is especially evident in their budget. Honda spent more money in Formula One during 2007 than any other British based team. That’s more than McLaren, which is a remarkable statistic, and although Super Aguri is partly responsible for that high expenditure it is still a monumental investment.

In addition to all that, Honda signed multi-year deals with Jenson Button and Ross Brawn as part of their long term plan to become World Champions. Their strategy included sacrificing performance in 2008 to focus on 2009, which helps illustrate the point that Honda have never once acted like a team interested in abandoning Formula One.

If Honda, one of the most committed and passionate car makers of them all, can exit the sport so quickly it makes you wonder if someone else might be about to follow them.

It should worry Formula One officials that most of the manufacturers involved in F1 are in the same financial position. Mercedes, BMW, Renault, and Toyota have all reported massive losses over the past year, and are closing factories whilst making staff redundant. In fact, most of them are far worse off than Honda. Ferrari has escaped the wrath to date because they do not mass produce cars on the same level, but will still feel some sort of pinch from parent company FIAT.

Honda’s situation can’t have been helped by the significant lack of sponsorship their team attracted over the past two years. They have not had a title sponsor since the departure of British American Tobacco in 2006, and could certainly have done with someone like Vodafone or ING pouring millions of dollars into the team.

Former BAR driver, Jacques Villeneuve, noted quite sensibly that Honda’s exit may have come about partly to protect their image.

The former world champ said “I don’t think F1 is one of Honda’s biggest expenses, but with the world economic climate as it is you have to be perceived to be making cuts.”

He is very correct. As a business it must be hard to justify the cost Formula One when people are losing their jobs. Ditching the F1 program might not be the most effective way for Honda to save money, but it is one of the most public. It would be hard to argue now that Honda is not doing everything it can to protect the livelihoods of its employees.

There is a real risk now for F1 that other manufactures will see the world in the same light.

If nothing else it will at least give the car makers incentive to discuss withdrawing from Grand Prix racing at their next board meeting. Honda might be treated as a test case, and may be seen as the ‘first to blink’. If a manufacturer involved in F1 is seriously considering an exit plan they may feel a little bit easier about it now.

The existing teams have all reaffirmed their commitment to the sport but nothing is ever certain in F1. The last week has been a great example of that.

Given their history and passion you can expect Honda will return one day to race in Formula One. We just have to hope that when they’re in a position to consider a comeback, the sport is healthy enough for them to go through with it.