FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[scotty]

The Formula One Teams' Association has agreed to abandon the energy storage and recovery system (Kers) for the 2010 season, BBC Sport understands.

The optional Kinetic Energy Recovery System can give cars a power boost, but only Ferrari and McLaren are now still using it seven races into the season.

Fota will drop it because of its poor uptake - and pressure from motorsport's governing body, the FIA, to cut costs.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali said it was a "logical decision".

When asked by BBC Sport F1 pundit Eddie Jordan ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday if Fota teams had agreed and signed by democratic decision to abandon Kers next season in an earlier meeting, Domenicali confirmed that was the case.

"That is our position jointly," he said. "Of course we are the ones that are using it now with McLaren.

"We have invested a lot of money in it and it's difficult for the public to understand how there are cars with Kers and cars with no Kers.

"I think in the view of helping new teams to get into F1, and in order to save money, that is a logical decision - even if we have invested a lot of money in that project."

Under the rules at the start of this season, Kers - which provides drivers with an extra boost of power for 6.7 seconds per lap - would also be in place at the start of 2010.

The power - 80bhp - was also due to be increased next year, meaning all teams would have had to have had it in order to remain competitive.

But that will no longer be the case.

BBC Sport understands that Ferrari are desperate to drop their system because it has been so unreliable for them, while McLaren's package developed by Mercedes has proved more successful.

Though McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is a fan of Kers, for a variety of reasons, he accepts that dropping it may be the only way forward.

"F1 has to demonstrate it has some green credentials," he told BBC Sport. "But, at the same time, in this economic climate everybody is looking to save costs.

"It has been a huge effort talking about new entrants and making sure these smaller teams stay in F1.

"McLaren's position is we would like to see Kers retained - but we also accept that we have to be responsible members of the F1 community and if the majority don't want to have Kers, or can't afford Kers at the moment, then we have to be realistic."

BMW Sauber and Renault both ran with Kers, which adds extra weight to the car, at the start of the season but both teams stopped experimenting with it after little success.

Championship pacesetters Brawn GP have no plans to introduce Kers to their cars.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 088272.stm

[GarethStr]

I think that this will be good as it would then allow more overtaking as cars cant just boost away like Kovalainen did in Turkey. But it odes seem rather pointless for the FIA to try and bring in this for the teams to tun round and say we dont want it. But then again that will be some costs down

[stonemonkey]

Call me cynical but didn't that plan drop the top teams well down the grid for a season as well as getting them to needlessly spend a load on (now) useless development.
Seemed strange to me that some teams weren't making much (if any) effort on that front which would've left them far behind next year when the power limits of KERS was supposed to be increased.

[scotty]

But then again that will be some costs down

Yup, being green is no longer the flavour of the month, it's now all about cost cutting!

[EwanM]

But then again that will be some costs down

Yup, being green is no longer the flavour of the month, it's now all about cost cutting!

Yum.

[racechick]

But then again that will be some costs down

Yup, being green is no longer the flavour of the month, it's now all about cost cutting!

Yum.

Mint or Pistachio??

[GarethStr]

Pistachio, mint is for next month

[7UpJordan]

Pistachio, mint is for next month

Mint with choc chip?

[Denthúl]

Pistachio, mint is for next month

Mint with choc chip?

Delicious.

[myownalias]

That's some good news at least; KERS was a silly idea; it would have been better to simply use a boost system like in A1GP; limited to X amount of uses per race.

[GarethStr]

I think KERS was a brilliant revolutionary idea, perhaps just not its time yet. As Whitmarsh said after Turkey I think it will eventually come back into the sport. Also it's green which is a road the FIA want to go down

[EwanM]

I think KERS was a brilliant revolutionary idea, perhaps just not its time yet. As Whitmarsh said after Turkey I think it will eventually come back into the sport. Also it's green which is a road the FIA want to go down

I agree in principal.

[Jensonb]

Marvellous. KERS is a waste of time anyway. Much better to get the financial side in order and then look to developing REAL green solutions later.

[kerc]

Marvellous. KERS is a waste of time anyway. Much better to get the financial side in order and then look to developing REAL green solutions later.

[GWADanny]

Yes, i think this is a good thing for F1. I think it should be left to just driver skill to make an overtake and for certain cars not to have an advantage over others. I also hope they dont think of doing it again in the future