CHAMPIONSHIP leader Jenson Button returns to the scene of his first Formula One victory on October 4 hoping to get back up to speed in the Hungarian heat. The Briton’s surprise win at a wet Hungaroring with Honda in 2006 was his sole success until this season when the Brawn GP driver pulled off stunning six triumphs in the first seven races.

Since then, Red Bull have been on a charge with two victories on the trot while Button has stumbled, leaving him 21 points clear of Germany’s Sebastian Vettel with eight races remaining. The leader struggled to get heat in his tyres in chilly conditions in the last two races, finishing sixth and fifth, but can expect to do better in Budapest even if long-range forecasts predict a chance of rain on October 3.

“Hungary is always one of my favourite races and even more so this year as it should finally be a return to some real summer temperatures,” he said in a team preview. His Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello also won in Hungary with Ferrari in 2002. Brawn have what they say is a significant aerodynamic upgrade for what remains one of Formula One’s slowest tracks.

Formula One will welcome a new face, with Spain’s Jaime Alguersuari making his debut for Toro Rosso as the sport’s youngest ever driver. The Barcelona-born driver, replaces sacked Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais.

The teenager will not trouble Button, whose main rivals will be Vettel and Australian Mark Webber, who ended his long wait for a first win in Germany this month. World champion Lewis Hamilton has been on pole in Hungary, a circuit famously difficult to overtake on, for the past two years while the twisty track could also act as a leveller.

Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, who took his first win in Hungary in 2003, has also been sounding more confident after leaving Germany with the fastest lap.