In Australia, neither of the two Red Bull drivers benefited from a KERS-powered RB7, whereas in Malaysia, the system gave both drivers headaches throughout the Sunday race. In Mark Webber's case, the unit broke down just before the race, while Vettel only got to use it at the start and up until mid-race.
And since the Sepang circuit was one where KERS had a big impact on lap times, lacking KERS showed on the timing reports, where Vettel didn't win as easy as in Australia. And since China is ahead, whose Shanghai venue is also prone to KERS usage, Red Bull will have to figure out a quick solution to their problem.
“The reality is that it is a system in its infancy,” admitted the team's technical director Adrian Newey. “We are not a manufacturer team so we are having to develop KERS ourselves, which has not been our area of expertise in the past.”
“We are also doing it on a limited resource, limited budget and with limited experience, so we are on a rapid learning curve. How long it takes us to get to the top of that learning curve remains to be seen.”
Additionally, he explained the problems tackled by Red Bull with both drivers on Sunday, insisting that both were new and hadn't appeared before.
“With Mark we had a problem off the line that meant he could not use it at all, during the race, including the start. He had a problem on the lap to the startline – it was a fresh problem, not a problem we have had before. With Seb – we had a problem that meant we could have continued to run it, but from a safety point of view we thought it best to turn it off and not take any risks,” he added.
The Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled only one week from now, on April 17.
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