Today I shall go over the other of this years overtaking encouraging devices, and after looking at the most recent of these gizmos the innovative DRS. KERS first reared it's power boosting head in 2009 where it was only taken on be the top teams at them time due to the cost of developing and then installing the technology in the car. During the it's first season it proved unreliable and was often a burden when it failed, both Renault and BMW who were running the system early in that season dropped it's use as it compromised performance.
The defining moment of the usage of KERS came at Spa of towards the end of the European phase of the season when the top teams with the enabled system were defeated by the non-KERS Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella. Ferrari were closest in the hands of Spa specialist Kimi Raikkonen, the red car was beaten to pole by the Italian and held for the opening few laps. But a safety car brought out by a collision at Les Combes involving Button, Hamilton, Grosjean and Alguersuari, packed the field back up again. On the restart Kimi was able to pass the Force India using the KERS boost and subsequently use the power to defend the position.
That demonstration showed that KERS was an effective addition to a car and was the only reason why Kimi won that race, against what was a faster opponent.
This year KERS is present on the majority of the field as is often incorporated with the engine supplier and as well as the manufacturer teams running the system - customer Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault engines will also be equipped with the same technology as the prime teams. The Cosworth powered cars however are bereft of the system, hence Lotus (the green ones) and Virgin don't have the system but will likely not be near another car to apply the power anyhow. HRT don't have the KERS either but then again they barely have a car either - so adding 80hp to their machine would effectively triple the power they have to start off with.
So how does it work
KERS a temporary boost of additional power somewhere in the region of 80hp on top of what the car can normally produce. The extra power is produced electronically from a storage reservoir which can either be in the form of a flywheel system or a battery.
The energy is recovered from braking, where the kinetic energy that is lost when the vehicle decelerates it then captured from the rear axle and stored in the reservoir. And when the driver presses the button on the steering wheel - one of the many buttons to contend with - the power is sent back to the rear axle to propel the car forwards with increased velocity.
The rules on usage
As with the DRS there are limitations where the KERS system can used and the amount of time it is available. During a lap the system will be recharged under breaking and will become available to the driver at the beginning of each lap. Which will be indicated by an on-screen graphic - one that looks a lot better than the one demonstrated by the second blogmobile which is also in the obligatory yellow and blue TJR livery.
The power is used when behind a car to close a gap and being a driver into position for an overtaking manoeuvres, of course it is most effective once leaving the acceleration zone after a corner so that the car is not traction limited and the power does not translate to wasteful wheelspin. KERS cannot be used until the car has achieved 100km/h so cannot be used off the grid - but can be brought into play further down the straight after the start. But in places like Spa and Monaco where the run to turn one is relatively short than the impact will be minimal.
In addition to being used as an overtaking aid KERS can also be applied to defend a position, by counter acting the power gain by a attacking rival, thus maintaining the status-quo between drivers in a battle. Assumingly it was to overcome this stalemate that the DRS was also introduced to allow for an indefensible passing opportunity.
KERS in Sepang
The track in Malaysia has a two main straights for the activation of the KERS system, the both of which lead onto quite slow corners which present the opportunity for changing positions. Also the run into the hairpin at turn 9 would also be a position where KERS could be used to an advantage as this is an area where DRS will likely not be applied.
However the decreasing radius bends that plague the circuit and the high speed sections where getting close to the car in front due to the aerodynamic wake of the car in front disturbing the air flow and causing understeer.
So overall Sepang may not see the full benefit of either of the systems due to the nature of the track and of course the temperamental nature of the tropical climate which can result in monsoon conditions and which eliminates the DRS from the equation which is not eligible in the wet conditions. We shall just have to wait and see what happens.
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