Sebastien Vettel is concerned that not enough attention has been paid to the safety of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) ahead of the introduction of the new technology next year.

KERS was put on the Formula 1 agenda to bolster the sport's 'green' credentials but has been criticised by some in the paddock due to its cost and complexity.

Vettel, who has yet to test one of the devices himself, insists the energy storing super-capacitor batteries need to be 100% safe before they hit the track in a racing environment – and is not yet convinced that they are.

“For next year, my personal concern to be honest is the safety aspect of this system,” he told the official Formula 1 website.

“Will it be safe enough to race?

“For a team racing with KERS the expectations are clear – it has to be quicker and it has to be one hundred percent reliable.

“But I think there is one thing that people underestimate at this stage: Is it safe enough?”

Vettel will be driving for Red Bull Racing next year, which will have both KERS units and engines supplied by Renault.

RBR has yet to test a system in public but suffered a fire scare in the early stages of the development of KERS when experimenting with the technology at its Milton Keyenes base earlier this year.

Shortly afterwards a BMW Sauber mechanic received an electric shock while handling a KERS-equipped car in a test session at Jerez, fortunately escaping without serious injuries.

Vettel warned that with just three months remaining before the first race in Melbourne, teams might be rushed into introducing the new technology before it is ready.

“We are a little over three months away from the start of the season, and now we are heading into the winter break,” he said.

“Then the teams will bring out their new cars and start testing again – and time is running short.

“Safety is the one thing I am afraid of the most right now.

“Hopefully the teams will improve that safety aspect and the FIA will take care of it as well.”

Another rule change for 2009 will see the reintroduction of slick tyres.

Vettel believes it is too early to tell what effect they will have on racing, as the teams have yet to run their 2009 chassis and have only used the new rubber in low temperatures.

“At the moment it is difficult to take a proper reading,” said Vettel.

“For sure it will be challenging as the grip next year will be slightly higher, especially at low speed, but then you are cutting down on aerodynamics.

“The last tests were done under uncommon conditions for Formula 1.

“At the last Jerez test, we had four degrees ambient and three degrees track temperature – so the experience didn’t really tell us that much.”

source[www.itv-f1.com]

 

looking forward to an interesting season... thanks for the post

 

I like his hat in the photo...

Anyway, I totally agree with Vettel that there needs to be more testing and safety analysis performed on the KERS system under race conditions. Bernie and Max should've contracted a company to build a "spec" KERS system that is idiot-proof and can just be integrated into each car without much extra work required. Forcing the teams to design and test a completely new system that won't really provide any real race benefits seems very counter-productive when teams are trying to cut budgets.

I don't understand how the KERS system can be incorporated actively into the cars in a way that will actually increase performance and contribute the excitement of the racing. A system like KERS makes sense is true hybrid cars like the Prius and others, but as far as any racing applications are concerned, I haven't seen any information that has me convinced KERS will help the cars go any faster or do anything better than they already do. The fact that the systems are proving unreliable and are creating safety hazards is not a good sign at all, especially when you consider that KERS is really just a marketing gimmick to make F1 more "green". Formula 1 should focus on greener fuels instead, a la ALMS.

Sorry, rant over.