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Jenson Button reckons Honda will need an experienced driver in order to get the best from its new engine when it rejoins Formula 1 next season.

McLaren and Honda will link up for the first time since 1992 when the Japanese manufacturer returns to F1 as McLaren's works engine supplier in 2015.

The Woking team has yet to reveal its driver line-up for next season. It has courted the services of world champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who are both contracted to their current teams for next year.

McLaren incumbent Button, who is F1's most experienced current driver with 261 grand prix starts to his name, reckons Honda will need the benefit of experience from the cockpit as it learns to extract the most from the sport's complicated V6 hybrid turbo formula.

"It would help them if they had experienced drivers driving their car for development reasons," Button said.

"It is a power unit that you are going to be trying to fill in a lot of holes with the ERS, so you need driver input and feel, from experience - you definitely benefit from that."

Button raced for the factory Honda F1 team, born from a buyout of the former BAR squad, between 2006 and '08.

The Brit expects the fresh partnership between McLaren and Honda to be strong straightaway, so long as they build a good cultural understanding with each other.

"The things where a team could struggle with working with a Japanese manufacturer, if you didn't work on it, is Japanese language and culture, but I think McLaren understands that," Button added.

"They've worked with Honda before - a long time ago - but they have worked with them before and I don't see any issues as long as they spend enough time working with Honda closely.

"I don't mean just the engineers or the aerodynamicists - the mechanics have to spend time understanding the Japanese culture and way of working as well.

"They all know that and are doing that, so I think it will be a good partnership and good understanding from the word go."