Formula One: Honda Wins Engine Battle Against FIA

Honda has won the engine battle against Formula One's governing body, the FIA. Honda can now develop a new engine within limits set by the FIA.

FIA has basically backtracked to an earlier rule that allowed Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari to upgrade their engines, while Honda was not allowed to.

This new ruling by FIA will allow Honda to change a set number of engines, calculated by the average of the number of tokens (parts of an engine that can be changed, based on the team's influence on performance) unused by the other teams by the time of the first race in Australia, taking place on the 16th of March.

In over a decade, Honda was the latest engine manufacturer to enter Formula One. The Japanese firm thought FIA wasn't treating the company fairly, so Honda officials from Japan flew over to meet FIA and express the company's concern.

Honda engines will be powering the McLaren Formula One cars, after an absence of almost six years.