Williams to Use KERS in 2010

Williams' technical director Sam Michael yesterday revealed – but then again, who had time to listen, as all eyes were focused on the WMSC meeting in Paris – that his team will use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System in 2010.

The Grove based team is currently the only outfit in the F1 field to develop a non-electric version of the technology, which is partially the reason why they failed to implement it throughout the 2009 season. With in-season testing being banned by the FIA this year, the Williams engineers had little opportunities to do a real on-track test of the unit in 2009.

“We fully support the use of KERS and always have done. Given the environmental and sustainability pressures that Formula 1 is going to face in the future, KERS is a positive step for the sport. It's in next year's regulations, so we're continuing developing our system with a view to using it on next year's FW32,” said Michael.

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) initially agreed to ban the unit for 2010, arguing that it's a highly expensive technology that has no sustainability inside the sport. However, KERS was included in the 2010 rule book as “optional” for all F1 teams, especially since the championship's “big guns” McLaren and Ferrari have proceeded in developing it throughout the 2009 season.

Flavio Briatore was actually the main character to push for a KERS ban next year, but it's unlikely he'll pose a problem to the KERS supporters from now on, considering the WMSC verdict the other day.