BMW Sauber have said they are to ditch their Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
Theissen says team will concentrate on improving aero performance
BMW Sauber have said they are to ditch their Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
The Swiss German team have hitherto been one of the main advocates of the KERS system and, alongside Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, were one of the teams to have run it this season.
However, like their rivals, they have encountered numerous problems and believe the added weight of the unit is a reason why they have struggled for aerodynamic balance.
Now deciding that they can deliver more performance by improving the aerodynamics of their F1.09 car, BMW Sauber have therefore decided to scrap the device.
Their decision leaves Ferrari and McLaren as the only two teams to run the device.
"We evaluated different alleys, proceeding with KERS or proceeding on the aero side and what could we do with no KERS on board," team boss Mario Theissen told
autosport.com.
"We had made some significant progress on the aero side which does not allow to fit KERS, and we have taken a decision just a few days ago to no more run KERS this year because we see a more promising alley in developing the aero."
Even so, Theissen was quick to point out that developing KERS has not been a complete loss for BMW as they can still adapt it to their road cars.
"I would not say the technology is a flop, just the opposite," he said. "Given the very short development time it has been a huge success to get it up and running reliably and our system really works fine. We didn't have any flaws, not even in Malaysia in the torrential rain. It is depending on the set of regulations you have.
"If you want to push an innovation then you have to fully focus on it. If it is not mandatory to have the system on board, then now KERS is basically out-performed on the aero side. And I have to say what we have achieved at least within BMW has been transferred already to the road car side.
"Our engineers are currently supporting the road car R&D department and that will continue for quite some time because we have learned an awful lot which is applicable to not just hybrid cars but also electric vehicles and conventional cars, because a battery is on any car."
