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But what's the point if it doesn't help you win a championship? If the car with KERS is slower than without it then I don't see the point.
But what's the point if it doesn't help you win a championship? If the car with KERS is slower than without it then I don't see the point.
I see your point, but F1 is about vehicle performance and efficiency. Who is to say the KERS system slows down the cars? I haven't yet seen the system implemented into a modern F1. If the FIA made KERS mandatory then it wouldn't matter if KERS did or didn't slow down the cars, they would all be equal. The only difference is they would all be developing greater technology that the world is in desperate need of.
But what's the point if it doesn't help you win a championship? If the car with KERS is slower than without it then I don't see the point.
I see your point, but F1 is about vehicle performance and efficiency. Who is to say the KERS system slows down the cars? I haven't yet seen the system implemented into a modern F1. If the FIA made KERS mandatory then it wouldn't matter if KERS did or didn't slow down the cars, they would all be equal. The only difference is they would all be developing greater technology that the world is in desperate need of.
This is the first I have heard that KERS was voluntary for 2009. It should be mandatory! If some cars have it and some don't then its not really "Formula 1" is it? What is BMW thinking? with the chaos of fuel prices, British truck drivers striking. The development of systems like KERS is even more important. BMW should be first in line to implement a KERS system in F1.
Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point. 
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Energy recovery became energy reception
for one BMW mechanic
Yet another incident involving the development of KERS systems for next year has occurred.
The local fire department was called to Red Bull's UK headquarters late last week when the team was testing for KERS, the electronic energy-recovery system that is allowed in Formula One from 2009.
But while smoke and fumes were the concern for Red Bull, the danger of electric shocks came to the fore on Tuesday as F1 teams began a four-day test at Jerez.
After three installation laps, test driver Christian Klien returned to the Spanish circuit's pitlane at the wheel of a modified 2007 BMW Sauber that was running an early KERS system.
A mechanic, whose job was to push the car back into the garage, touched Klien's car and was thrown to the ground with a shock.
A statement said he had to visit the medical centre but escaped with only slight injuries to his left hand and grazing on his left arm.
"Because the team is still investigating the incident, the car did not run in the afternoon," a BMW spokesman added.
It is believed the KERS car will not run at Jerez on any of the three remaining days of the test.
A BMW Sauber mechanic has escaped with minor injuries after suffering an electric shock while the team was trying out its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) during testing at Jerez this morning (Tuesday).
The incident occurred when test driver Christian Klien returned to the pits after an initial three-lap installation run in a modified 2007 car (F1.07C) fitted with the KERS device.
The mechanic suffered the shock when he touched the car’s sidepod, falling to the ground before being helped to his feet by his colleagues.
He was taken to the circuit medical centre for attention and was released soon afterwards with only slight injuries and grazing to his left hand and arm.
A BMW spokesman told itv.com/f1: “During testing of the KERS car at the Jerez track this morning, there was an incident involving a mechanic.
“When the car returned to the pits, he touched it and suffered an electric shock.
“He sustained slight injuries to his left hand and grazing on his left arm.
“After a brief examination at the track’s medical centre, he has returned to the test team.”
The team has suspended its testing programme for the remainder of the day while it investigates the causes of the incident.
BMW is not the first team to have encountered problems with its KERS development.
Red Bull Racing had to evacuate its factory in Milton Keynes last Wednesday after a fire scare triggered by a battery failure.
The latest incident is likely to raise further safety concerns over the device, although BMW boss Mario Theissen said at Hockenheim last Friday that his team was confident of ironing out the teething troubles.
“We are developing or working on several alternatives, especially in terms of energy storage – we do an electrical system – and we have had some issues already in development which is normal, no big ones," he said.
“We have carried out extensive work on reliability, on potential damage and on all cases which could happen.
“So that means we have done an FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) on the entire system, especially on the storage unit, and we are doing specific tests to really figure out what can be done or what can happen and what can be done to avoid it.”
Prior to today's incident, BMW had carried out extensive dyno testing of its KERS unit and completed a successful shakedown at its private test track in Miramas, France.
Klien will be back in action in this year's F1.08 car tomorrow to continue with 2008 development work.
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