Ferrari will wait until its new KERS system has proven both its performance potential and reliability before giving it the green light to be used during the 2009 season.

The world champion team has made no secret of its struggle to get to grips with the complex energy-saving device and has increasingly voiced its displeasure that the expensive systems are being introduced in a period of urgent cost-cutting requirements in Formula 1.

Indeed before Christmas Ferrari admitted that it was behind schedule with its development and had contingency plans to run with a conventional car in place should the system not be ready for March’s season-opener in Australia.

However, while KERS was fitted to the new F60 that Felipe Massa shook down at Mugello on Monday, team boss Stefano Domenicali expects the forthcoming testing programme to highlight any problems that exist with the system and says that it won’t be introduced for racing purposes until a clear advantage is seen from it on track.

“We can decide if we want to use KERS in our car and when it's clear that the system will effectively improve the performance, which it seems to do in simulations, it will be our task and technical challenge to push on with it,” Domenicali said during a press conference at Mugello.

“Today is a very important day also as far as this system is concerned and we're testing the new system on the track.

“I don't expect any surprises; but we'll definitely see the problems when it's used on the track.”

Domenicali says the fact that testing has been banned entirely during the season, and further restrictions put in place for the off-season, means Ferrari cannot afford to take any chances with a still-fragile KERS system.

With the units set to cause an added reliability concern for teams in 2009, Domenicali insists Ferrari must ensure its system is up to the task, especially as it cannot afford to have the kind of reliability problems that derailed Felipe Massa's bid for the drivers' title last year.

“As you know tests are limited to 15,000 kilometres this year and there's no possibility to test after the start of the season,” he said.

“I expect that test rigs and simulations will be used much more.

“As I already said there will be many more problems, but our main objective is reliability.

“Last year we paid a high price.

"This year, with a new system as complex as the KERS, our main objective is the verification of the reliability.

“The car on the track today confirms [that priority]; it's fitted with the KERS."

Ferrari’s reliability issues with the F2008 car were highlighted at the very first round in Melbourne last year, when Kimi Raikkonen suffered a fuel pump problem in qualifying before both the team’s cars were hit by race-ending engine failures – although the team did dominate the next race in Malaysia.

Domenicali believes a lack of reliability or outright speed will be more heavily punished at the start of the season than ever before in 2009, given the new in-season testing ban.

"This is one of the most important points of the upcoming season,” he said.

“When we're heading for Australia we can't modify much.

“On Friday we can test what we want to use over the weekend.

“There will be more test rigs and we might have to risk much more.

“If our car will be competitive right from the beginning, it will be a decisive element in understanding where we are."
source[www.itv-f1.com]

 

KERS is such a stupid idea right now. I'm sorry but I just can't understand how introducing KERS to F1 at this time was ever considered a good idea.

On the plus side, if Ferrari is struggling with their KERS system and McLaren can get theirs to work, Lewis will have an even easier time winning the WDC again!