The Honda motor company have said that suggestions that they are evaluating a return to Formula One for the new V6 turbo era are 'unfounded rumours', saying that the company has other priorities than motorsport.
Honda have been linked with a return to the grid over recent weeks, with rumours earlier this month suggesting the Japanese manufacturer would link up with their former McLaren partners.
The company was reportedly interested in the sport again after the FIA confirmed a move to turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engines from the 2014 season.
Honda and McLaren won four straight championship titles between 1988 and 1991.
But McLaren denied suggestions that they were angling for a new manufacturer deal last week, despite the team having run as a Mercedes customer squad since the start of 2010.
And now Honda chief executive Takanobu Ito has insisted that the company has no plans for a return to the sport in the near future.
"That was a complete unfounded rumour," Ito told reporters at the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday when asked about the fresh F1 link.
He added: "Of course we are interested but we think there are higher priorities than Formula One [at the moment]."
Honda last raced in Formula One back in 2008, before they pulled the plug on their factory team after two consecutive uncompetitive seasons.
The fact that Honda are not interested in an F1 return will come as another blow to the FIA's new engine platform plans.
The new engines, already pushed back from 2013 and modified from an original four-cylinder engine plan, were designed in part to attract fresh blood to the F1 grid.
But Honda have joined fellow manufacturer VW in ending speculation over their F1 future, with the only confirmed new engine maker being Craig Pollock's Mechachrome-backed PURE company.
Current F1 engine suppliers Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Cosworth are all still committed to the new 2014 rules.
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