With the return of KERS on the agenda for 2011, teams have been discussing it’s limitations to ensure it makes a real difference to overtaking as well as pushing the green credentials of Formula One.
Ferrari and Renault have already submitted proposals for it’s return, both of which are thought to include clauses to double it’s capacity.
The big issue, which the teams want to reach consensus on, is how powerful the system should be, and how many times and for how long the system can be used per lap.
“We think that the gains that were available last year in KERS were not probably significant enough and that we should look at KERS for the future with that in mind,” said Mercedes team principal, Ross Brawn.
“We would prefer to look at something which is planned and integrated with the new powertrain, which comes in 2013.
“That doesn’t mean to say that KERS can only come in 2013; maybe it can be anticipated.
“But if we do a system now and then we do another system in 2013, it’s a little bit of a shame because with the systems we have now – Mercedes has just won an award for their system for innovation and technology – the advantages they offer is probably not enough, and we need to look at systems that are substantial enough to help the sporting side of the racing.”
Brawn would prefer a push-to-pass button which utilises KERS, but also boosts the engine power to achieve a greater advantage.
“If we had a push-to-pass button that you could only use a certain amount of time then we could have something really quite exciting,” he added.
“So I think KERS has a future, I think we need to be careful not to rush back to what we had last year, which we all agreed was perhaps not a huge success.”
