“I think I am the lightest driver on the grid so I don't have to worry about it as much as some of the others,” said the 60-kg Massa, according to a report by Spain's Diario Sport.
As you all know, the addition of KERS to an F1 challenger next year will come with weight, as the unit is anticipated to weigh around 30 kilos. What this means is that the F1 engineers will have less ballast to work with around the car, ballast which is a sine-qua-non element of the racer's stability. Consequently, “heavier” F1 drivers will have to lose some kilos in the weeks to come, as those kilos will translate into ballast to be used by the team for their car.
Needless to say, KERS' return means good news for lighter drivers, as their engineers will have littler headaches through the winter, setting up the car. In recent weeks, it emerged that at least two drivers have already began their personal fight against the scale: Rubens Barrichello and Fernando Alonso.
In addition, Massa ruled out the possibility of a small advantage over his teammate regarding the use of KERS, as both have experienced a similar amount of time driving KERS-powered F1 cars back in 2009. Not to mention that the units of Ferrari and Renault (the car Alonso was driving at the time) were both developed by Magneti Marelli.
“In 2009 I used the Ferrari and Fernando used the Renault (KERS), which was the same. And I only used it for half a season, until my accident in Hungary,” added Massa.
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