McLaren team splits use of KERS to determine effectiveness
In case you haven't been paying attention, Formula 1 as we know it appears ready to come completely apart at the seams with the front-running teams launching a separate series that could potentially run concurrently with what's left of today's F1. With all of that going on, it's easy to forget that there's an actual race taking place this weekend in Britain.
According to reports from the McLaren camp, Lewis Hamilton will be running through the assorted practice sessions without an active KERS system. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen, on the other hand, will have a fully functioning hybrid system in place.
McLaren, which is generally acknowledged as having the best KERS implementation in all of Formula 1, is keenly interested to see if reality matches up with computer predictions that indicate its race cars should be 0.3 seconds faster around the track at Silverstone with KERS enabled. We'll be tuning in on Sunday to see how it all plays out on the course.
[Source: World Car Fans | Photo: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Travis R 5:04PM (6/20/2009)
Hamilton didn't make it out of the first portion of qualifying with a lap of 1:19:917 and Kovalainen made it through with a 1:19:735, about 2 tenths faster. Hamiton starts 19th, and Kovalainen starts 13th tomorrow. It's hard to say if that's the real difference though, as Adrian Sutil's late crash ended Q1 early, when Hamilton was on his last flying lap. We'll see how they race tomorrow.
In related news, BMW has decided to abandon KERS for good:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76402
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Carlos 7:57PM (6/20/2009)
The F1 this years it´s very, very boring...more than others years, and the Kers a good idea but expensive and not usefull.
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Swede 11:03AM (6/21/2009)
This year is certanly NOT boring! It's quite the opposite! Last few years have been incredibly dull, before KERS came in and flipped the tables. This is exciting, unlike the processions of old.
Carlos 12:11PM (6/21/2009)
So why all teams, less williams and force india, want a new challenge? because this it´s not F1, it´s something like it.
gorr 11:13AM (6/21/2009)
Don't bother me with limp outdated tricked boring underpowered polluting and costly gasoline technology. Actually formula one is trying to eat themself and their customers and their associates and sponsors with secrets gimmicks between speculators. That's why mclaren had to pay 100 millions fine and that's why brawn gp with a gross gimmick is winning, LOL. Do they expect someone think that there is sport into this. They like any criminals want now to change their faces for next year. The consumer have been left for millions for the richs and have to smell fumes while they rejected my hydrogen v8 of 8000 h.p design.
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organic 10:06PM (6/21/2009)
As I have said in the past, Show me a place that sells your hydrogen v8 of 8000 h.p design and I will buy it on the spot. And your so spot on all those F1 cars are limp outdated tricked boring underpowered AND polluting.
gorr 3:25PM (6/22/2009)
Actual f1 engines only devellop 800 h.p with bad drivability in traffic and at slow constant speeds. Even if you want 800 h.p you get nasty problems with such a low tech engine and the usual pollution and fuel cost . No one is driving on the road with such a low tech and nasty irregular engine. Actual engine in civic or focus and just plain as bad because it's the same thing basically, it's just that they have been tame down as much as possible and offer an illusion of being well constructed.
Me on the other hand, im speaking of 8000 h.p and with good drivability. This is important because sometime you drive at 3 mph in traffic jams or in downtown miami where someone in the car show her butt to pedestrians on the boardwalk. This is an engine that fit everywhere in neiborood car up to trains and ships or airplanes or to a personnat electrical generator for your house without nasty pollution. I remember the time, long time ago where many folks were living in permanent flying big helicopters with such engines. They had a house and a town with a lot of energy all at the same place and they were doing a lot of tourism too. Even today boeing is unnable to offer to their paying consumers such a package. You need to pay overprice 747 with few place and lonf runnaway, few flying time with huge fuel usage and pollution. This is misery, a 747 airplane. This was good in 1965, but now it's outdated and toxic.