KERS

[Sonic]

Yes KERS returns under the same conditions as 2009 afaik.

[Mark]

The only point in using a technology like that is making it unrestricted IMO. You can collect as much energy as you can, and you can use it whenever you like!

[Dave B]

The only point in using a technology like that is making it unrestricted IMO. You can collect as much energy as you can, and you can use it whenever you like!

This. KERS in its 2009 form is a gimmick, a push-to-pass button disguised as an environmental measure. I'd like to see all the teams design their own systems, or be free to buy technology from other teams if they so wish, or to opt not to run KERS at all if they think the weight saving is advantageous.

[ShiftingGears]

Yes KERS returns under the same conditions as 2009 afaik.

[Sonic]

The only point in using a technology like that is making it unrestricted IMO. You can collect as much energy as you can, and you can use it whenever you like!

Bravo!

This is where I think the fly wheel has so much potential over the battery - way more flexible in terms of power boost and duration.

But it isn't to be. Hopefully KERS will be given a proper chance this time because I do think the technology is valuable to F1 (both competitively and Eco wise), with a little luck they will follow their own advice from 2008 and slowly but surely increase the power storage year on year.

[SGWilko]

Not trying to pick a fight here, but I have this persistent memory of Kimi leaping out of his smoking cockpit after KERS failure. And a dim recollection of one of the crew members (maybe not Ferrari) getting a massive shock by completing the circuit between the car and ground in the garage.

KERS would seem to be a very dangerous system with limited utility. As long as overtaking and cornering is hampered in close racing due to the preponderance of wings, it is nearly impossible to overcome the short-term burst provided by KERS. It doesn't improve the racing when it allows a slow car to balk a faster one by speeding up on the straights and holding the others up in the corners and slower sections. More boring parade laps if you ask me.

If everyone has it, it may be beneficial, but this piecemeal adoption is unexciting IMO.

Cheers,
Bruce

No probs - I don't see this as fight picking.

You are quite right, I think on two occasions the KERS in the Ferrari did a wobbly. But I think it was BWM, the biggest advocate of KERS (and who never used it!) that had the system that tried to fry a mechanic.

I like KERS because it focuses on renewables/energy reclamation and storage. This is something the public transport area of the civilised world needs to embrace.

If F1 can be used to develop it (and I think the Williams team are in partnership (I think, with a bus manufacturer) then all the better.

I also liked the tactical use of KERS last year. Not really as push to pass, but as an aid to improving lap time.

[ZEROX]

KERS are heavy. They'll make the car much slower start with those heavy fuel load.
Rather than KERS, just go for the Nitrous Oxide System (NOS) then...

[call_me_andrew]

This. KERS in its 2009 form is a gimmick, a push-to-pass button disguised as an environmental measure. I'd like to see all the teams design their own systems, or be free to buy technology from other teams if they so wish, or to opt not to run KERS at all if they think the weight saving is advantageous.

They already have push-to-pass in F1. It's only a gimmick if its usage is made public on television.

I think the mechanical flywheel KERS has a lot of real world potential because it seems relatively simple to retrofit onto a conventional powertrain.