Vettel: KERS Safety Comes First!

Sebastian Vettel is the second driver, after Robert Kubica last week, to admit he is not very keen to driving a KERS-powered car any time soon. However, the German's worries are not linked with the weight distribution or car's balance but with drivers' safety. BMW Sauber, the team who has been consistently pushing for the KERS unit in 2009, has had plenty of failures with the system while track-testing it during the last few months.

“For next year, my personal concern to be honest is the safety aspect of this system. Will it be safe enough to race? For a team racing with KERS the expectations are clear - it has to be quicker and it has to be one hundred percent reliable,” insisted Vettel after the latest testing meeting at Jerez. The German topped the 3rd day of testing while using a 2008-spec car, and was quicker than BMW's KERS-powered car by more than 2 seconds.

“My concern is that so far no one has had a real thought about safety. As I said, it has to be quicker, it has to be reliable, but under any scenario it has to be safe for us drivers - and all the people working around the car. Safety is the one thing I am afraid of the most right now. Hopefully the teams will improve that safety aspect and the FIA will take care of it as well,” added Vettel.

Until now, the team who has had the most problems adjusting to the KERS technology was BMW Sauber. Earlier this year, a mechanic was taken to the hospital after touching the KERS-powered car driven by Christian Klien when coming back to the garage. Using an electrical unit, the system underwent some electric discharge that could have been fatal for the BMW mechanic.

The German team also encountered several problems with the system during the last 2 testing meetings at Jerez.

So far, most of the F1 teams have opted for a mechanical flywheel system that limits the danger of electric shocks or battery fires. Williams seem to have other plans though, as the British outfit is believed to develop an electrical system for 2009.