Lotus Will Not Use KERS in Early 2011

Team Lotus (we can call it that until the British courts rule otherwise) will unlikely use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in the 2011 season of Formula One. Back in May, team principal Tony Fernandes told the media that his team doesn't plan to develop the aforementioned unit for the year to come.

Now, the team's technical boss Mike Gascoyne told edp24.co.uk that Lotus will not pump money into the KERS unit – which will return to F1 in the year to come – but focus on the other important technological feature brought in by the 2011 regulations, the adjustable rear wing. This aerodynamic tweak will help trailing cars overtake easier, as the driver can adjust the rear wing manually, while in the race.

“We will have the adjustable rear wing but not KERS for the start of the season - it's in development - really because of engineering resource,” argued Gascoyne.

“Over one lap, it's still not a big plus for its effort, involvement and negatives. Strategically off the start and in races, then yes. But at the start of the year, KERS is not going to be the thing that gives us the step up,” added the former Toyota and Force India technical, suggesting that focusing on the aerodynamic package for 2011 is much more important than building KERS.

“It's all the other things, and we've taken the choice to concentrate on all those because if we don't get them right, KERS isn't going to make a difference.”

Needless to say, should everything go according to plan with the next year's car (from an aerodynamic standpoint), the team will take the decision to use or not to use KERS later in the season. Thanks to their new partnership with Renault, Lotus won't have to develop the whole thing in house, but simply buy it from the French manufacturer.

“Renault are very keen on green technologies and KERS, so it's something we will be pushing,” admitted Gascoyne.