JENSON BUTTON has vowed to remain positive after shaking off the shock of Honda’s withdrawal from Formula One. The global credit crisis, resulting in a dramatic slump in car sales for the Japanese manufacturing giant, has forced Honda Motor Co Ltd to pull the plug on their €300m-per-year F1 operation.

Jenson Button has vowed to remain positive after shaking off the shock of learning of Honda’s withdrawal today from Formula One.

Honda will pull out of Formula One unless a buyer can be found by the end of the month, it said today.

Honda Motor Co Ltd plans to sell a record 940,000 new cars in Japan in 2003, up 4.4% from the estimate for 2002, while worldwide sales are seen rising 10% to 3.1 million, also a record.

Honda Motor Co Ltd said it plans to increase its auto sales to 3.4m units by end-March 2005, up some 700,000 units from the sales achieved in the year to March 2002, and motorcycle sales by 5m to 11m units.