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The Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) was introduced to Formula One in 2009 following a regulation change by the sports governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Usage of such systems is currently optional, and as of August 2009 only two teams out of the ten competing are using KERS.

Announcement
In 2008, the governing body of Formula One, the FIA, announced the regulations for the 2009 season. As part of the regulations, there would be a ten year freeze on the specification of the F1 engine, in order to allow teams to divert their time and resources to developing technologies that would be more relevant to road cars and environmentally friendly. KERS was also presented as a way to increase overtaking, as a car with extra power could get past one without easier. Other racing series had already adopted push-to-pass systems which aimed to achieve a similar effect.

Technical description

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Three different types of KERS are permitted under the current regulations; mechanical, electrical and hydrolic. All three devices aim to recover energy that would otherwise be lost during braking, in order to provide an increase in power during acceleration. Mechanical and electrical systems have been considered and developed by the teams competing in the sport, however as of August 2009, only electrical systems have been used in a Grand Prix event.

The electrical system works by using a motor-generator to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy under braking and then converts it back into mechanical energy to release into the transmission when required. The electrical energy is stored using lithium-ion batteries, although under the regulations other technologies such as supercapacitors are permitted.

The mechanical system...

Under the 2009 regulations, the devices are limited to recovering 400kJ of energy per lap, and the system can provide no more than 60 kW of extra power. This allows the driver to have 6.67 seconds usage of extra power per lap, which he can choose when to use by pressing a button on the cars' steering wheel. Other than technical limitations, the power increase can be spread out over a lap however much the driver wishes. The increase in power available is offset by the extra weight of the KERS equipment. Although all car and driver combinations must weigh a minimum amount, in practice the cars are designed under the weight limit and ballast is added where it provides the best balance to bring the car up to the minimum weight. The inclusion of a KERS weighing around 25 - 35 kg reduces the amount of the total weight that is made up of ballast, compromising the ability to adjust the weight distibution and hence balance of the car.

The original announcement by the FIA detailed plans to increase the amount of energy that the device was permitted to recover per lap, to 800kJ in 2011 and then to 1600kJ in 2013.

Usage
Four of the ten Formula One teams ran KERS on their cars in the opening race of the 2009 Formula One season; Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Renault. All except BMW ran the system on both their cars, BMW opted to run one car with KERS and one without. The cars running KERS achieved mixed results, with only one of the seven cars finishing within the top eight positions that award World Championship points.

At the second race, Nick Heidfeld finished in second position driving a KERS equipped BMW. During practice for the race, Kimi Räikkönen experienced problems with the KERS on his Ferrari. Despite continuing to use it for the race, the next event saw Ferrari drop the system, citing reliability and safety issues. BMW tested the system on their other car driven by Robert Kubica during the practice sessions, but opted to only use it on Heidfeld's car during the race. The Renault team also experimented with KERS during practice, eventually deciding to compete in the race without it, leaving only three cars running the system.

Both Ferrari and Renault returned to using their KERS systems at the next race, and BMW decided to use the system on both their cars during the race for the first time. However at the fifth race of the season, BMW and Renault again opted not to use KERS. The Force India team, who were planning to begin using their KERS system from this race onwards announced that they had refocussed their efforts elsewhere, and would not be using the system for the foreseeable future. The following two races also saw McLaren and Ferrari as the only two teams to use KERS.

At the British Grand Prix, the eighth round of the season, McLaren decided not to run the KERS system. McLaren had been the only team to run the KERS system at every round so far, and this left only two cars running KERS for the race. BMW, who had not run their system during the previous three rounds, announced that they were ceasing development on their KERS system with immediate effect and that it would not be used by them again during the 2009 season.

McLaren returned to using their KERS system the following round, and announced they would continue to use it until the end of the season. The tenth round of the championship saw the maiden victory by a car running KERS, Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix driving a KERS equipped McLaren.

Kers Usage Details
* Season still in progress.

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed

AUS: RAI MAS HAM KOV ALO PIQ HEI

MAL: RAI MAS HAM KOV ALO PIQ HEI

CHN: HAM KOV HEI (KUB-p) (PIQ-p) (ALO-p?)

BAH: RAI MAS HAM KOV HEI KUB PIQ ALO

SPA: RAI MAS HAM KOV

MON: RAI MAS HAM KOV

TUR: RAI MAS HAM KOV

GBR: RAI MAS

GER: RAI MAS HAM KOV

HUN: RAI MAS HAM KOV

Ferrari - Magneti Marelli

McLaren - Zytek Automotive

Renault - Magneti Marelli

BMW - In-house

Future
The Formula One Teams Association, an organization representing the majority of the teams competing in Formula One, announced that their members had agreed not to run KERS for the 2010 season citing the high cost and limited return on the investment seen by teams running the technology by that stage of the season. Ferrari stated that their system had cost millions of euros to develop and running the system during a race costs £350,000.

It is currently unclear whether KERS will be banned under the regulations for 2010, or whether the teams will not run the system under a gentlemen's agreement.