KERS is a big question mark - Theissen

The new Formula One season has just got underway with two splendid races in Australia and Malaysia. However, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is already looking ahead to the coming year. Great technical changes await.

On the one hand, the aerodynamic aids for the racing cars in the 2009 Formula One World Championship will be cut significantly. For example, the dimensions of the front and rear wings are to be changed to make it easier for drivers to follow and overtake cars in the future. Additional winglets are a thing of the past. On the other hand, the engineers are working hard on KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), which will store brake energy and convert it into additional engine performance in 2009.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explains: "It is mainly these two areas everybody is working on. The new aero package is totally different to what we are racing today. And then KERS, where there is an even bigger question mark because it is new technology, which we will use only nine months from now."

For this reason, KERS is a real challenge for all engineers working on the engine in Munich - but one the team is relishing. Theissen says: "I am really excited about this project because I am sure we will leap-frog current technology. We will provide a step change for future road car technology and this is a position we wanted to be in for years and it really enhances what we do in F1."