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FIA, FOTA to Discuss Standard KERS for 2011

The return of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in Formula One is serious business within the FIA and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), as both seem to push for that to happen from as early as next season.

The FIA made it very clear, through the voice of its new president Jean Todt, that it supports the immediate return of the technology into the series, as it would provide Formula One with the unofficial title of “ambassador to new technologies.”

From the teams' standpoints, things aren't so easy (we can't remember the last time it were). There are some teams that are supporting a KERS return for 2011, mainly due to the pressure from their parent companies to develop this technology in order for it to be used in road cars in the near future. These are the cases of Ferrari and Renault, who have already offered their technology to the independent teams, in exchange for 1 million Euros.

Williams-Cosworth is also a team that plans to use its own mechanical-based KERS system from as early as 2011, although they haven't yet considered selling it to other teams.

Nevertheless, the majority of the teams within the FOTA seem to favor a waiting period until 2013, when the new-specification engines will make their debut into F1.

In recent days, a new offer has been submitted to the teams' alliance – and is currently being revised – by Flybrid Systems, a British company founded in 2007 by former Renault F1 engineers. According to some reports, they are willing to provide all teams with their technology at an accessible price, meaning the small teams could afford it too.

The standard KERS variant will be fully discussed by the members of the FOTA in their next meeting, scheduled to take place during this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
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