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Ferrari Will Not Use KERS in China

Ferrari will not be using the Kinetic Energy Recovery System during this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. While most teams consider the Shanghai International Circuit a great place to deploy KERS, the Italian outfit decided to keep it in their garage for further evaluation. The announcement was made by team principal Stefano Domenicali during a short briefing on Thursday, in Shanghai.

The Scuderia encountered several problems with their KERS unit during the first couple of races this season – Australia and Malaysia – but announced they have worked them through during the past week. A previous press release from Ferrari, issued earlier this week, had confirmed the KERS issues were addressed and solved in due time.

However, Domenicali's confirmed the problems with KERS in Malaysia were decisive in taking this decision.

"We found a problem with the KERS on Kimi’s car in Sepang and we have therefore decided not to run KERS this weekend in Shanghai. We need to understand what happened to the system from the point of view of safety and reliability," said Domenicali.

"It has delivered a performance benefit, but if it is not running safely and reliably, we can no longer take the risk of running it. This weekend, we must therefore do the best we can with what we have and await the new developments on the car, while going back to basics in every area."

Renault, on the other hand, are expected to use the unit at Shanghai, as it's believed to provide the R29 with an important power boost on the long straights of the Chinese circuit. Renault are yet to make a final decision on the matter, as they've announced earlier this week that they'll be taking a race-to-race approach when talking about the KERS deployment.

China will most likely represent the first grand prix this season when BMW Sauber will equip both their F1.09s with KERS. Robert Kubica will test the technology for the first time this year, as BMW have prepared a lighter car for the Pole driver to drive during Friday's free practice. Depending on how it works, Kubica's car might also feature the unit in the Saturday qualifying and Sunday race.
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