No electric motors in F1 pits, Ecclestone says

From 2014 the Formula 1 race cars have to move in the pit lane just using the KERS electric motor. But Bernie Ecclestone, a self admitted climate change denier, believes it is too dangerous.

According to the regulations submitted to the FIA, the energy accumulated on the braking, shall actuate the motor during the movement of the pit lane.

"To go on the electric motor on pit lane would be dangerous, because people who are there will not hear the machine – says Bernie. – Also, the absence of sound affect the interest of viewers. Now, as soon as the GP3 race starts, where the sound of the engine is almost inaudible, the stands begin to thin out. Electric motors have no place in Formula 1. "

FIA OK new 1.6-litre V6 engine plans to be introduced in 2014

Formula 1 will officially switch to a 1.6-litre V6 engine format from 2014 after proposals finalised by the sport's stakeholders during last weekend's European Grand Prix were rubber-stamped by the FIA's World Motorsport Council on Wednesday.

According to a statement from the sport's governing body, WMSC members agreed in a fax vote to formalise the new turbo-charged engines, which will feature energy recovery units.

The statement read: "Following a fax vote by its members, the World Motor Sport Council has ratified the engine regulations recently drawn up in consultation with the main stakeholders in Formula One.

"The new power plant will be a V6 1.6 turbo unit with energy recovery systems. This new formula will come into effect as from the start of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship season."

F1's teams and the FIA were in deadlock over the engine situation for several weeks until agreement was reached during a Formula 1 Commission meeting prior to the European Grand Prix weekend to delay introducing the regulations by a year to 2014.

The new plans also featured a change in the format from a four cylinder engine to a six cylinder unit - Ferrari having been against the former on marketing grounds. Mercedes and Cosworth had also voiced concerns about development costs. F1 technical chiefs then met in Valencia to give their formal backing to the V6, 1.6-litre plan.

The teams indicated after the Valencia gathering that they would ask for a rise in the proposed rev limit of 12,000rpm to 15,000rpm. It remains unclear whether this was included in the ratified plans. Similarly it is not known whether a request to delay the introduction of new chassis rules set for 2013 - to coincide with the new engine plan - has been successful.

Formula 1 to introduce V6 turbo with 10x more powerful KERS in 2014

The new engine regulations planned for 2014 will also see the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) output increase.

New 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged engines will be introduced as manufacturers attempt to reduce fuel consumption levels with the KERS hybrid technology also integrated. RenaultSport F1 deputy managing director (technical) Rob White told the Red Bull website that the lack of power from the engine will be partly compensated by an increase in performance ten times that of the current KERS units.

"It will be much more potent than KERS is now," White said. "In 2011 KERS is limited to 60kW power, using 400kJ of energy per lap. The equivalent numbers for [the new engine] are 120kW - so twice as much power - but more importantly, up to 4MJ (4,000kJ) will be available to the driver each lap.

"Basically it will contribute performance ten times greater than the 2011 KERS. We've become used to the cars using 60kW for a few seconds a lap. What we're talking about is twice as much power for much, much longer."

F1 to dump 4 cyl plan and move to V6 turbos with KERS in 2014

The Formula 1 Commission is set to be asked to consider switching the sport's future engines to 1.6-litre V6 turbos in a bid to end the ongoing stalemate about future regulations.

Ahead of a crunch meeting in London today to discuss engine regulations for 2013, amid disagreement between manufacturers over plans to move to 1.6-litre four-cylinder engines, it is understood that a final push has been made by the car makers to find a solution that is acceptable to all the sport's stakeholders.

Sources have revealed that those behind-the-scenes discussions between the engine manufacturers have resulted in a plan for the four-cylinder plans to be dropped and instead 1.6-litre V6s to come into force from 2014 - one year later than the current change in regulations is planned to come into force.

With the support of all the car makers, there is no reason why the teams would be against such a tweak to the engine regulations - especially as it would guarantee all the current manufacturers staying in the sport.

And crucially for the FIA and its president Jean Todt, who has been adamant that F1 has to move to more environmentally-friendly rules, the plan includes sticking to the 'green' KERS technologies that were originally planned for the four-cylinder power units.

The FIA said earlier this month that it would be willing to hold off the switch the four-cylinder engines if there was unanimous support of the competitors.

If the V6 plan is received positively by the F1 Commission then it would go to the FIA's World Motor Sport Council for approval.

Webber frustrated by KERS problems

Mark Webber fears that he may be left without KERS again in the Canadian Grand Prix - after losing the power-boost for qualifying in Montreal.

The Australian's efforts to secure pole position were wrecked by the 0.3-0.4 seconds deficit that he was forced to face after his KERS malfunctioned on Saturday in Canada.

And although the team still has time to fix the problems ahead of Sunday's race, Webber is pessimistic about what can be done.

"It is a major headache, it is just tough for the guys, they are doing everything they can, but we cannot continue [to have problems like this].

"I think we were pretty confident of getting it fixed for qualifying on the back on FP3 for me. But I drove down the pitlane and they said no KERS – I thought, 'how the hell do you know that already if I haven't even touched anything?' We tried to get it back into life for Q3 but it wasn't having any of it."

Webber says the biggest problem with Red Bull Racing's KERS is that it is so unpredictable as to when it will work or will not work – which makes it harder to find a cure to the issues it has faced.

"It is incredibly unpredictable, and it is unreliable – that is a no-brainer," he explained. "Sometimes you are going okay with it, and other times we are struggling a little bit with it. It is unpredictable.

"The consistency we have clearly got to get on top of it, because we have had weekends where it was very good, like the Turkish GP where it worked very well, but it is a challenge for us."

Audi open about propulsion systems for future Le Mans

Audi has given the clearest hint yet that its R18 will accept alternative propulsion systems, but said it will not be limited to a KERS-style hybrid power train.

They will also be closely related to production car technologies rather than the sport-specific KERS solution employed in Formula 1.

"The basic concept provides for electrification of its [the R18's] drive," said Michael Dick, Audi's director of technical development. "However, we will only incorporate it when the technology has been proven, and it will also be carried over to serial production."

Ulrich Baretzky, Audi Sport's head of engine technology, confirmed that they are looking beyond conventional hybrid systems.

"One of the reasons we decided to have a V6 engine [in the R18] was to have enough space and the maximum variability to integrate engine recovery systems of any kind or shape," Baretzky said.

"Energy is going to become more precious than it has in the past. We are going to have to change our minds completely about how to use it. This is also true for Formula 1 and it was very courageous of Jean Todt and the FIA to insist on it [in the putative 2013 engine regulations].

"People will lose interest in wasting energy, in the boring negligence of the needs of the time. It's a clear responsibility we have to the spectators and the public to use this special role we have in motorsport to showcase solutions that are also viable for them.

"I don't like to use the word 'hybrid'. I prefer to look at complete energy recovery systems which include every kind of energy efficiency technology. A brake energy recovery system like KERS is just one of them, for sure not the only one, and maybe not the best one."

LE MANS: Hope Hybrid Set For History-Making Debut

While the Panoz Q9 nearly became the first hybrid to run at Le Mans back in pre-qualifying in 1998, it appears the history books will finally be re-written this weekend when Hope Racing’s Oreca Swiss HyTech Hybrid takes to the track for Saturday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Thirteen years after the revolutionary, but overweight “Sparky” failed to qualify for the French classic, the Swiss-based team, led by co-owners Benoit Morand and Jean-Marie Brulhart, have ticked all of the necessary boxes required to make the history-making debut, although it all came down to the wire, quite literally.

With the car having been withdrawn from the second Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round at Spa due to a vibration that affected its Flybrid-built hybrid, Hope was given until May 20 to get its car certified by the ACO, otherwise face expulsion from the the race.

In order to be certified, the Oreca 01, powered by a 2.0-liter Lehmann four-cylinder turbo, needed to complete the entire length of the Le Mans pit lane (400 meters) entirely on KERS. Sure enough, the test was scheduled for May 20, the final day in the ACO’s deadline, at the Lurcy-Levis circuit in France.

“It was almost something from the movies, the way it happened,” technical director Andrew Sayer said. “The ACO arrived at about 4 p.m. in bright sunshine, as it was for the two days. Michelin left, taking all the wet tires with them, but then a couple of dark clouds started appearing. As we’re discussing with the ACO and showing them around the system, big spots of rain started to come down.

“Obviously I was panicking. [Team co-owner Benoit Morand] runs in and says, ‘Can we go now?’ There was a motorbike track day going on at the same time, so they stopped half an hour early for us. We pushed the car out to the straight line and marked out [the distance points] with the ACO. We then did our engine charge... Steve [Zacchia] then pulled away and stalled it, the first time he did that in the last six days of testing!

“He pulled up to 60 kph, cut the engine before the first cone, ended up driving 463 meters on the KERS. Steve then started the engine back up, turned around and came back to us. We put the umbrella over him to keep him cool. By the time we connected the computer to download the data, it was raining so hard that we had to take the umbrella off Steve and push back to the garage immediately!

“Literally, five minutes after we had done the test [the rains came].. We had one shot and we did it in one shot. We couldn’t have done it again anyway because the rain was so bad!”

While it was no doubt a close call to making it into Le Mans, Sayer says the original problem, the natural vibration of the internal combustion powerplant that caused a resonance issue with the hybrid, has been alleviated by going with a different sized flywheel and modifying the engine insulation.

And with two further days of testing in the books at Magny-Cours, where all three of its drivers, Steve Zacchia, Casper Elgaard and Le Mans veteran Jan Lammers, who will be making his 22nd start at Le Mans, racked up a total of 750 kilometers, the team is hopeful of making a solid debut run.

“We’re happy with the performance of the car as it stands at the current moment,” Sayer said. “We know there’s more to come, but I think we’re definitely looking for a finish because having something that’s so new, to be able to finish the race would be amazing.”

Porsche GT3 R Hybrid wins 4-hour endurance race at Nürburgring

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid has taken its first competition victory in a four-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring. And hybrid efficiency played a key part in the win.

This goes some way to make up for Porsche’s huge disappointment this time last year when the hybrid 911 race car was just two hours from taking victory in the Nürburgring 24-hour race when a mechanical failure saw it grind to a halt.

Since then the 911 GT3 R Hybrid has raced all over the world, including appearances in the US and China. But that its first major win has come at the ’ring following the disappointment last year must be a great boost for the team behind its development.

Porsche refers to this 2011 911 GT3 R Hybrid as the Version 2.0, the 2011 car 50kg lighter than the first version and weighing in at a respectable 1,300kg. Power in the two motors driving the front wheels has also been increased from 60 to 75Kw each.

This equates to a power boost of 200hp for limited bursts when exiting corners or, on demand via a ‘push to pass’ style button, overtaking. Porsche claims that over a lap of the Nordschleife the hybrid system is equivalent to an additional 32hp.

One of the reasons Porsche has been able to keep the weight down is the use of a kinetic generator rather than heavy batteries. Under braking the electric motors drive a flywheel that then spins at up to 40,000rpm, this energy then used to power the motors under acceleration.

A version of the same system also features in the Porsche 918 RSR concept, revealed earlier in the year at Detroit. But while that’s a concept the 911 GT3 R is a very real ‘rolling laboratory’.

And Porsche will be happy that the car’s efficiency was one of the key factors in its victory, the hybrid pitting twice for fuel while rivals were forced to stop three times. As a result the Hybrid came home seven seconds ahead of a conventional 911 GT3 RSR.

This all bodes well for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid Version 2.0’s return to the Nürburgring 24-hour on June 25-26, the improved efficiency and – hopefully – reliability combined with the proven pace enough, Porsche hopes, to challenge for an outright win.

Newey: Red Bull Racing underestimated KERS

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has admitted that the team underestimated the resources that would be required to fully get on top of KERS. The energy boosting device has proved troublesome for Red Bull all year, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber often instructed not to use it.

"KERS is a complicated project that needs a lot of research and a lot of development," said Newey. "The packaging route we have chosen for our system, while it has its roots in the Renault Marelli system used a couple of years ago, has been altered to suit the package in our car and has caused some problems. "It is not proving easy to completely eliminate it, We hope we have learnt how to manage it, but we are learning."

Newey considered that the system has not a Red Bull speciality and the team should have directed more resources to it. "It is not our forte, we are an aero chassis manufacturing group rather than a KERS group," he said. "The department is quite small, with hindsight probably a little too small, and there is a lot of inertia to these things. It's quite difficult to react quickly to a problem."

Nissan could help Red Bull with KERS

Nissan aka Infiniti are being tipped to use its electric car know-how to help develop an energy recovery system for the Red Bull Racing Formula One team.

The team, which uses Renault engines, is leading both the drivers' and constructors' world championships after Sebastian Vettel won three of the first four races of the season.

However, the team's performances have been compromised by repeated failures of the in-house developed parts of its KERS energy-recovery system – prompting the speculation that it will turn to team sponsor Infiniti for help.

'There are long-term goals for the partnership to go beyond that of a straight sponsorship deal and enter a sharing of engineering information,' said an Infiniti source.

Infiniti is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance, which is currently taking a lead on electric road car production. The Nissan Leaf was the first mass-produced electric car to make it to market, while Renault will launch four electric cars over the next 18 months.

Vettel recently hinted at Infiniti playing a greater role in the team's development, saying: 'The partnership is still very fresh, but it is a relationship that will grow in the long-term. They can be a strong partner for us.'

Vettel, Webber Praise Red Bull for KERS Fix

Red Bull can now tackle the rest of the season in Formula 1 without worrying whether their Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) will be working or not.

Following the 3-week break in the series,a time during which the mechanics at Milton Keynes have worked hard to resolve the KERS glitches of the Red Bull-developed unit, the technology worked almost trouble-less in Turkey.

While Sebastian Vettel started perfectly from pole position and went on to win another comfortable race this season, Mark Webber experienced only minor problems with his KERS late in the race. That didn't keep him from easily overtaking Ferrari's Fernando Alonso though, and scoring his second consecutive podium finish this year.

“I think big compliments for the team,” said Vettel after the race, as the German did not encounter any problem whatsoever with the KERS technology throughout the weekend in Istanbul.

“For us, the drivers, maybe three weeks is some time off, but for the team, they are working hard. (In Turkey) I had no problems from start to finish,” he added.

“KERS was very good today,” Webber echoed his teammate's comments. “The guys have done a great job.”

Red Bull had struggled with KERS use throughout the first 3 races of the new season, following some problems encountered with the unit in Australia. In fact, the Austrian outfit didn't even use KERS at Melbourne, while in Malaysia and Shanghai, the unit suffered slight reliability problems during the race.

Red Bull's KERS problem fixed - Marko

Red Bull has fixed its KERS problems ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, according to the team's consultant Helmut Marko.

The championship leaders have struggled with the technology so far this year, with Mark Webber yet to have a trouble-free weekend. After the Chinese Grand Prix Red Bull vowed to get to the bottom of the issues, which were believed to be related to overheating, and Marko insists it is now fixed.

"Our KERS system is fine, over the Easter break we have made some modifications," he told the German newspaper Bild. "It is much better now. It works."

With KERS working the Red Bull's could extend their advantage over one lap, which was up to 0.7 seconds in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel is hoping for more of the same in Turkey but is not underestimating his rivals.

"Our car should be strong there, but of course we have to respect our competitors and can never take anything for granted," Vettel said. "People are pushing hard, but we are pushing very hard too to maintain our strengths."

Red Bull KERS components ’scattered’ on RB7

Red Bull has taken a different approach to KERS, a technical report in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport has revealed.

The otherwise-dominant team has struggled with the technology so far in 2011, and is using the three-week break before Turkey to try to fix the problems.

"If I’m honest," said designer Adrian Newey recently, "I would rather not have KERS on the car."

The Briton was also quoted as saying Red Bull is in a "learning phase" with its system, amid suggestions Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have been banned from talking about KERS or any specifics of their difficulties.

"Actually I don’t know (what’s wrong)," said Australian Webber in Shanghai, "and honestly I don’t really care either. I just want it to work!"

Auto Motor und Sport said the foundation of Red Bull’s KERS is the Renault system, but it differs in design by 40 per cent to the base unit, which has functioned in the Lotus-Renault essentially without drama so far in 2011.

The report said Newey has packaged KERS unusually compared to the bulk of the field, for example by placing some components to the left and right of the gearbox.

In comparison, Renault’s KERS is under the seat, while Red Bull’s has suffered from vibration, high temperatures and software glitches.

F1 Teams using ‘kickdown’ to trigger KERS

Four teams are using an innovative method to maximise the driver’s ability to efficiently deploy KERS in 2011.

That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, describing the novel method as ‘kickdown’.
‘Kickdown‘ refers to the additional pressure that a driver must deploy beyond full throttle to activate the KERS power-boost.

It means the driver, who is already at full throttle when he needs to use KERS, must do nothing other than press even harder on the right-foot pedal to trigger the energy-recovery system.
Nick Heidfeld confirmed that he made the ‘kickdown’ suggestion for KERS when he joined Renault this season.

“I had the idea to use kickdown when we had traction control,” the German is also quoted as saying. “We did that at BMW.”

Another clever innovation in 2011 is in the Mercedes footwell, where Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg rest their foot on a third pedal to the left of the brake to activate the DRS rear wing.

Vettel: Pole performance down to KERS

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel used KERS to power to pole at Shanghai on Saturday.

The team did not use the energy-recovery technology to dominate in Melbourne, but championship leader Vettel said he needed it to stave off a resurgent McLaren in China.

“We came here and solved most of the (reliability) problems,” the German said. “I think if we did not have it (KERS) today, we would not be here (on pole).”

So significant has been McLaren’s progress in recent weeks that Hamilton, happy to be second best in Australia, was visibly disappointed with his P3 on the Shanghai grid.

“These guys (Red Bull) still have a slight edge but it seems we’ve closed the gap a bit,” said the Briton.

Also visibly disappointed was Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber, who starts 18th on the grid after a wiring loom issue that caused some concern with the KERS. The combination of a bad call by team management to stay on hard tires and another KERS failure resulted in Webber not getting beyond Q3.

Webber set to qualify without KERS for Chinese Grand Prix

Red Bull faces a race against time to give Mark Webber KERS capability in time for the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying session, after the Australian suffered more problems in final free practice at Shanghai this morning.

Webber managed just one flying lap in the final hour's practice after an electrical problem in the RB7's wiring loom meant that he was unable to activate his KERS on track.

The issues come after the 34-year-old was unable to use KERS through the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend.

"There was an electrical issue, a wiring loom issue actually that caused some concern with the KERS," team principal Christian Horner confirmed to the BBC, who conceded that it was touch and go whether Webber would be able to use the system in qualifying.

"We are doing our best to try and make sure that it is in working order on Mark's car. It's going to be very, very tough though. It looks like a few issues, so it's probable that we won't be running KERS on Mark's car in qualifying but we should be okay for the race."

Horner added that Sebastian Vettel, whose KERS is working correctly, was happy with his running during the morning session after the world champion set the pace in all three practice sessions.

"Sebastian seemed very happy with the balance of his car this morning," said Horner. "Mark, on the one flying lap that he had, was a lot happier today than yesterday, so hopefully we should be in good shape."

Red Bull's KERS conundrum

Sebastian Vettel admitted Red Bull's unreliable KERS system almost cost him victory in Malaysia - but what is causing the problems and how can they be solved?

With their low-running front wing and one of the most efficient exhaust-fed diffuser layouts on the grid, Red Bull appear to have developed the best car at least for the start of this season - but as their rivals copy to catch up, their fundamental failure on KERS development is starting to become a serious worry.

McLaren's rapid turn-around from their pre-season disasters to become contenders for pole and race victory in Malaysia has been helped by their decision to drop the 'octopus' exhaust and mimic the approach used by Red Bull. The close competition between McLaren and Red Bull in qualifying last Saturday showed that with all elements working, at Sepang at least, they are fairly well-matched.

McLaren has more developments to come, too. Their exhaust system is currently rather patched together and after one new solution failed last weekend they hope to have another on the car in China, which could refine their performance even further. And they haven't even started looking at the Red Bull approach to the front wing yet...

Red Bull, in contrast, has one major focus - going all-out to fix their KERS problems. But Sepang showed it won't be easy.

Webber's KERS problem in Malaysia happened on his way to the grid and its immediate failure suggests a software glitch. Vettel's problems started part way through the race, when he was told not to use the system, but apparently after a while he was allowed to put it back on again. Newey explained later this was due to "safety" issues, and the fact it could be restarted after a while may suggest the unit was overheating and simply had to have time to cool down. Certainly, Newey's comments after the race point to multiple issues with the system, not just one clear problem.

SYSTEMS KNOWLEDGE

The Red Bull KERS is based on the Renault and Magneti Marelli system, which was first developed in 2009. The team ran tests with the system back then, but quickly chose not to use it as they concluded the benefits did not overcome the performance loss from the weight increase that came with it.

With that weight increase now accounted for in the rules, KERS has all the benefits with none of the side effects in this area - making it an essential system to have on the car.

It was confirmed by Renault during winter testing that both Lotus Renault and Red Bull Racing are using an evolution of their 2009 KERS - but, crucially, Rob White explained that "while Renault provides a central point of contact for the KERS system on the engine, its integration into each car and its operation is the responsibility of the respective teams".

The electronics and software elements of the system are understood to not be part of the package - suggesting Red Bull has the hardware but must develop their own way of making it work.

Newey admitted in Malaysia that the team is struggling due to a lack of knowledge and resources in this area compared to some of the teams with closer connections to automotive manufacturers like McLaren (with Mercedes), Mercedes GP, Ferrari and Lotus Renault. Red Bull's own collaboration with Nissan's luxury brand Infinity is still far too new to net any technical benefits - meaning they are going it alone to find a solution.

PACKAGING

In addition to the hinted-at software issues, Red Bull could well have other problems in terms of the system's packaging in the car - because technical director Newey is notorious for wanting to limit anything that interferes with aerodynamic perfection.

Red Bull's system has the KERS control unit located tight in on the right hand side of the car, with the battery pack tucked onto the side of the gearbox on the left hand side of the car, in an area that would normally be 'dead space' within the sidepod.

This contrasts with the other KERS users, who position the batteries beneath the fuel tank. This would normally give a better weight distribution, but due to the new tyres this year, front-to-rear weight distribution has been fixed by the teams so Red Bull can get away with the more rearward location while gaining a packaging benefit - but the question is does its position cause other problems?

Both parts of the KERS system get extremely hot during operation and need cooling - but with the more rearward location of the batteries a more complex cooling solution may be required. In addition to this, Newey will be keen to keep cooling inlets as small as possible because any opening in the bodywork causes additional drag on the car. It seems that possible compromises in this area may have gone too far - and any quick fix to increase cooling will harm the car's performance.

ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT

The unit provides an extra 80bhp for five seconds per lap, providing around 0.3s of lap time advantage, but in terms of out-and-out performance this can obviously be overcome by simply producing a car that is at least 0.3s faster than the opposition when running without KERS - which in Australia is where Red Bull appeared to be.

On many of the tracks where KERS is less important, that could still be the situation and if Red Bull's advantage becomes more marginal and they cannot trust KERS they could benefit from removing it and positioning the replacement ballast in locations that will improve the balance and performance overall.

But if they did remove KERS, with no testing allowed away from the grands prix they would then have no way of working towards a reliable system - and while they could test on Fridays and then run the 'serious' part of the weekend with ballast instead, it is difficult to make that change quickly.

Also, in circuits with longer straights like Malaysia and this coming weekend's race in China, it is the strategic advantage of the KERS system (when used for overtaking rather than just as a tool to provide additional power through the lap) that makes not having it a huge disadvantage.

It was clear from Mark Webber's start in Malaysia that a lack of KERS on the start line will ruin a race and his fightback through the field also demonstrated that that without KERS, the movable rear wing (DRS) is less effective too. He managed to use the system for a few moves, but it was not as easy as it could have been.

Most importantly for Red Bull, last weekend's race showed that they have the ability to monitor issues with the system and turn it off without a problem if reliability becomes a concern.

So it appears the solution, for China at least, is to continue running it while accepting that they may again just have to do a bit of damage limitation if things go wrong.

Saft Li-ion KERS Batteries Power 40% of Formula 1 Grid

Battery manufacturer Saft have developed state-of-the-art lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that are providing a boost to five of the twelve Formula 1 teams competing this season, including Ferrari and Lotus Renault GP.

Saft's Li-ion batteries are at the heart of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that will be deployed by the five teams in response to the FIA regulations that encourage the development of energy-saving technology. KERS also promotes more exciting racing by providing a power boost for overtaking.

"Our solutions for KERS demonstrate Saft's ability to deliver leading-edge technology for the most complex and demanding high performance applications, even while working to extremely tight deadlines," says Xavier Delacroix, General Manager of Saft's IBG division. "We are aiming to establish our Li-ion batteries as the reference for Formula 1."

KERS performance with Li-ion

The Saft Li-ion battery allows up to 60 kW boost (around 80 horsepower), with an energy release up to 400 kJ per lap. The driver can use this additional power to provide an extra seven-second boost of acceleration in each lap.

When the F1 car brakes, a proportion of its kinetic energy is captured by an electric motor/generator (MGU) connected mechanically to the engine. This captured kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy which is stored in the Saft Li-ion cells. When extra power is needed, the battery releases the stored energy to the MGU which functions as an electric motor, providing extra power to the drive train.

KERS battery considerations

The F1 KERS is a particularly demanding battery application. Saft has worked closely with the F1 teams to develop tailor-made solutions for each team's KERS design, based on its high-technology VL Li-ion cells - which offered the optimum combination of performance, power-to-weight ratio, reliability and safety. Lifetime and durability are also key considerations since the batteries are subjected to high levels of heat and vibration

No quick fix for Red Bull KERS issues

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have been warned that there may be no quick fix to the KERS issues that appear to be the only chink in Red Bull Racing's armour at the moment.

Although Vettel has won the first two races of the season, the German and team-mate Webber have battled with ongoing KERS issues - and neither driver had a fully functioning system throughout the whole Malaysian Grand Prix.

And with just one week until the next race in China, which is another event where KERS is crucial for lap time, Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has admitted that his outfit is still only beginning to get on top of the hybrid system.

"The reality is that it is a system in its infancy," said Newey. "We are not a manufacturer team so we are having to develop KERS ourselves, which has not been our area of expertise in the past.

"We are also doing it on a limited resource, limited budget and with limited experience, so we are on a rapid learning curve. How long it takes us to get to the top of that learning curve remains to be seen."

When asked if the problems were such that they could take some time, Newey said: "The fact that we are still finding new problems implies that is the case."

Some of the problems that Red Bull Racing has suffered with its KERS have been related to the ultra-aggressive packaging that Newey has demanded for the RB7 – but he has insisted that the team has not been too on the edge with it.

"I don't think so," he said. "If the problems we had were all related to the packaging then the answer would be yes, but they are not."

Webber did not run KERS at all in the Malaysian GP, after suffering a problem with it prior to the start, while Vettel was told not to use his in the second half of the race.

"With Mark we had a problem off the line that meant he could not use it at all, during the race, including the start," said Newey. "He had a problem on the lap to the startline – it was a fresh problem, not a problem we have had before.

"With Seb – we had a problem that meant we could have continued to run it, but from a safety point of view we thought it best to turn it off and not take any risks."

Vettel: KERS was key to my pole

Sebastian Vettel reckons there was no way he would've taken pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix if Red Bull hadn't got their KERS sorted in time for Sepang.

There had been doubts over whether the champion squad would use the energy-boosting device in Malaysia after reliability problems in Melbourne practice forced the team to remove KERS before the race.

That didn't stop Vettel taking a relatively easy win from pole in the opener, but with the Sepang track featuring much longer straights, KERS was thought to be a vital addition - and Vettel concurred after edging out Lewis Hamilton for pole and seeing team-mate Mark Webber take third.

"It's a big compliment to the guys, especially with the KERS," said Vettel.

"We got criticised after the last race for not having run it all the time and it's something that we were not proud of.

"But we came here and sorted out most of our problems and I think if we would not have had it today then we would not be here, both of us, so it's a great achievement."

Vettel was not quickest in any of the three practice sessions and admitted it had taken him a while to get on top of things at Sepang.

"It was quite a challenging weekend," he said.

"Until qualifying, I was happy with the car but we never got into a rhythm so yesterday was not as smooth as we hoped for and also this morning, but we knew we had it in the car, so the main thing was believing in it.

"In qualifying it worked out straight away, and was very close at the end with the McLaren guys."

He added: "It was not a particular problem with the car or anything that broke down, it was just not as smooth.

"We did not have all the laps we wanted, had a little bit of traffic, and I did mistakes and it just didn't all come together as nicely and allow us to find that rhythm.

"The track here can be very challenging in that regard, you've got lots of corners with different lines."

Vettel's margin over the field in Malaysia was much smaller than it had been in Australia, with Hamilton just a tenth behind, and the Red Bull driver said that showed those who had predicted he would dominate the year had spoken too soon.

"The gap is quite a lot smaller than it was in Australia so it just shows how quickly things can change and at the next race, you never know..." said Vettel.