Earlier, it would have been possible for FOTA to simply vote against KERS and not seek an accompanying rule for 2010, as using the energy recovery systems is voluntary. However, because Williams and Force India have been expelled from the body, it’s now more difficult for FOTA to implement a unanimous agreement to keep the legal technology off all F1 cars in 2010.
Only McLaren and Ferrari used KERS in Istanbul over the weekend, but even so BMW's Mario Theissen did not vote to ban the systems.
"We have voted in favour of KERS but, as in all the FOTA decisions before, we will go with the majority," the German said.
The KERS system is essentially a CVT connected to a flywheel that engages on deceleration, recuperating some of the energy that would otherwise be converted to heat in the brakes. This spins the flywheel up, which continues spinning until called upon to boost acceleration, offering an additional 80hp (60kW) boost for about seven seconds.