The unit affects a great deal of the car's weight distribution, as it provides the mechanics with little ballast to work with around the car. Nonetheless, despite being fitted with KERS during the twisty low-cornered Monaco Grand Prix, the two Ferrari F60s were the best cars on the track, except for the two Brawns, of course.
However, being one of the last teams to start the development of their KERS units, Ferrari did have plenty of problems with the system in the opening rounds of 2009. Those mistakes, among others or course, have cost the two drivers some valuable points in the standings, as argued by Felipe Massa. Nonetheless, the Brazilian praised his team's strategy to go ahead with the development of KERS, as it will prove a great asset in the future.
“Just like McLaren, BMW and Renault, we wanted to use the new technical rules to the maximum benefit. It would have been embarrassing if the other manufacturers had used KERS systems successfully and we were at the back without it. So we had to go for the KERS option. At the moment we have the best car that has KERS,” said Massa, according to Germany's Die Welt.
From the four teams mentioned by Massa – five, if we include Williams F1's flywheel based KERS – Renault are the only ones who have announced the potential scrapping of their KERS development until later this year, as team principal Flavio Briatore is still pushing for a complete ban of the system from 2010 onwards. In order to catch up with Ferrari and Mercedes – believed to have the most competitive such units in F1 – BMW will implement an updated KERS during the upcoming Turkish GP.
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