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Ferrari Blame BMW for KERS Early Debut

It's no secret that Ferrari have been pushing on and on to persuade the International Automobile Federation to delay the introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System until at least 2010. However, without the unanimous approval of the Formula One Teams' Associations, their efforts were denied every time.

And Ferrari have already found the constructor to blame for failing to postpone the technology. According to team principal Stefano Domenicali, BMW were the only team to continuously dismiss the delay throughout the FOTA meetings this winter. He also argued that the introduction of KERS this year comes at a time when F1 is trying to cut down expenses and teams are not ready to throw money out the window for developing this 'unnecessary technology'.

“We specified that resolutions must be reached unanimously. But sometimes you have to compromise as well. Everyone could accept that, except BMW. Only if we all work together will the future of F1 be rosy, rather than dark, as we are experiencing now.”

“It is the wrong moment to introduce such a complex system. It has nothing to do with Formula One. A lot of money has been thrown out of the window,” said Domenicali during the Madonna di Campiglio ski event in the Italian Dolomites, according to German news agency SID.

BMW were one of the first teams to focus their attention on the 2009-spec car – KERS development included – since mid-season 2008. After facing criticism for abandoning their 2008 programme and, consequently, throw away their chances of clinching an F1 title last year, the German manufacturer clearly wants to begin the new season holding the upper hand with their new KERS unit.

So far, only BMW and McLaren Mercedes have tested their KERS unit on track, as the other F1 teams are likely to introduce the system during the course of the 2009 season.
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