Williams unfazed by KERS cost

Williams have no concerns over the introduction of KERS

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43615
Saturday, 09 August 2008 14:36
Williams is not worried about the cost of developing its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for 2009 and is keen to push ahead with the new technology.

KERS is currently a hot topic in the Formula 1 paddock after some of the team bosses requested its introduction was delayed until after 2009, due to worries over safety and cost.

However, Williams CEO Adam Parr said that his team does not see the development of the technology as a financial burden.

“The only change in ’09 that effects the costing is KERS,” Parr told Formula1.com.

“I don’t mind saying that our budget for KERS is 10 per cent of our budget for aerodynamics and composite parts, so it’s not a huge amount of money and we see it as a fantastic investment into the future of the sport.”

Williams, along with BMW and Honda, was part of a triumvirate of teams opposed to postponing the introduction of the technology, a possibility that was muted when the F1 team bosses met at the Hungoraring prior to the last grand prix.

Due to the opposition from these three teams the introduction of KERS will still go ahead next year, as a unanimous agreement was needed to enforce a delay.

One of the teams less enthusiastic about the introduction of KERS for next year is Red Bull Racing.

Its boss Christian Horner was quoted by Formula1.com as saying: “For us, KERS is part of the regulations so it is something that we will do.

“It is extremely costly and as we are an independent team we don’t have the resources to develop like a manufacturer has.”

Horner also said he feared that KERS could become a “big performance differentiator”, but Parr disagrees.

“Looking at it from a competitive side, I don’t see it as a potential performance differentiator,” he said.

“Overall we think it is the kind of thing we should be doing in Formula 1, as it maybe has a wider significance than only in Formula 1.”

Williams is thought to be well advanced with its KERS technology – opting for a system that uses a flywheel to store energy rather than a super-capacitor battery, which has been adopted by the majority of teams.

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