After admitting that Virgin too considered forward exhausts for its MVR-02 challenger, before giving the idea up due to the immense costs it would have implied, Wirth gave a similar explanation to the lack of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) from the new racer.
According to Wirth, the high costs linked with the introduction of KERS were redirected to the new car's aerodynamic package, as it made more sense from a development perspective.
“The fact is it (KERS) is extremely expensive and extremely heavy and it is worth about three tenths of a second – we're after three seconds,” argued Wirth during the car launch event in London, on Monday.
Another difference to the other F1 challengers presented so far has been the design of the nose, which in Virgin's case features a low-stance design. However, the adjustable rear wing will not miss from the team's 2011 package, as the rear section has been reworked completely as compared to its 2010 predecessor, the VR-01.
Speaking of the VR-01 challenger, most of you probably remember that the 2010 car has been initially developed with a smaller fuel tank, forcing the Virgin drivers to drive on low-fuel mode in order to just finish the race. Only after the first 4 races of the season, the British squad managed to develop a new chassis with a proper fuel tank for Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi. Asked about the prospect of doing a repeat in 2011, Glock smiled.
“That's not going to happen to us again,” said the 28-year old racer. “This time our tank is too big!”
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