Although they were considered to be very late on developing the KERS unit through the winter, the Maranello-based team are among the first to confirm the technology's use in F1 races. So far, only Renault has announced it will race KERS in Australia, through the voice of technical director Pat Symonds.
As announced earlier this year by Ferrari's technical director Aldo Costa, the Italian team was always holding a back-up plan in case the unit would not be fully developed by the season opener – namely a revised version of the Ferrari F60, without KERS. However, it appears that all tests have led to the conclusion that the unit is functional and ready to go from as early as Melbourne.
In the meantime, championship's other big guns – BMW Sauber and McLaren Mercedes – are holding back on deciding whether they'll use KERS in Australia or not. The Hinwil-based team was reportedly ahead of the competition when it came to developing the technology through the winter, but revealed they are still having second thoughts on using it during the season opener.
McLaren, on the other hand, are still having a hard time setting up a reliable MP4-24 by Australia, and incorporating a yet-uncertain KERS doesn't seem like the right way to go. The Woking-based team has already announced, through the voices of team boss Martin Whitmarsh and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, that they are not expecting a winning performance next weekend.
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