Button anticipating renewed Eau Rouge challenge

Jenson Button has admitted to looking forward to tackling one of the most fearsome corners in F1 under different conditions at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Eau Rouge has earned itself a reputation as one of the famous and revered challenges in motorsport and, whilst it has become easier with the technology being added to modern F1 cars, Button believes that it will be more tricky this year with the latest technical regulations.

"We love F1 as a challenge," he said, "That's why we love Spa, love Suzuka, those sort of circuits, because they are still a real challenge. At Suzuka, if you make a mistake, you are punished for it.

"Eau Rouge is a little bit different obviously, as you're doing over 300km/h if you lose control, and the walls are very close! In the wet, and with high fuel, it's going to be very tricky - not just because of the low downforce but because of the torque that we've got. If you are slightly lifting, then getting back on the throttle, there is a massive amount of torque there that we're not used to through Eau Rouge - no-one is in F1...."

McLaren team-mate Kevin Magnussen shared some of Button's anticipation, but admitted that he wasn't dwelling on the challenge.

"On used tyres, it could be a challenge, and old tyres in the race could be quite tricky, but it's always a bit different in real life, so we'll see," he reasoned, "I suspect Red Bull will have an easy time going flat through there as they have a little bit less top speed and lower downforce, but I'm not too worried about Eau Rouge..."

While agreeing that the racing under the new regulations has been surprisingly good this season, Button admitted that he would be happy if the driver was given more control over the outcome of his race.

"The racing itself is fantastic, really really good, but I agree that [F1] is very technical, very complex," he acknowledged, "You just have to be careful how far we go with that."