Surprise: BMW won't use KERS at Barcelona

By BMW Sauber F1
May 5 2009

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld will both race without KERS at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. The Kinetic Energy Recovery System has temporarily been removed from both BMW Sauber F1.09s, due to a comprehensive aerodynamic update.

"We will not be equipping either car with KERS in Barcelona," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen just days ahead of the first practice sessions at the "Circuit de Catalunya". "It was a case of lining up with either a comprehensive aerodynamic update or KERS. The tuning time on Friday would be too short."

However, Theissen does not believe this is a final farewell to KERS: "We may come back to KERS in Turkey," says the German. Despite the removal of KERS due to a lack of time, Theissen is pleased with the way the system has performed so far: "From a technical point of view, the results are positive. The system has worked flawlessly up to now."