If the characteristics of the Melbourne track seldom made the use of KERS decisive in qualifying or race, things will change in Malaysia, where all teams will try to benefit as much as possible from the extra boost provided by the unit.
After revealing his distrust over Red Bull's front wing – which he sees as having flexible properties – Lewis Hamilton also commented on his rivals' lack of KERS last weekend. He argued that Red Bull will not resist much longer without using the technology, and believes it will be done from as early as Malaysia.
“We have some small upgrades coming,” announced Hamilton. “Whether or not we can compete with them on pure qualifying pace, I don't know, but I think when it comes to the race there is a much longer straight going into turn one.”
“If we can get on the first two rows again we can compete with our KERS. I don't think they are going to be able to go too long without KERS.”
If pretty pessimistic about his team's chances of catching the Red Bulls anytime soon, Jenson Button reckoned however that one area where McLaren are ahead of the reigning world champions is related to KERS.
“Most teams are getting 3.5 to 5 tenths out of KERS, and I think they are getting 1.5. It is good for us and something we need - we need to have a strong KERS system because in terms of their pace and every other area they are very strong,” said the 2009 F1 champion.
Red Bull's Christian Horner himself admitted that the team will use KERS in Malaysia, explaining that a few issues regarding the system's functionality prevented it from being fitted onto the RB7 from as early as Australia.
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