How will KERS affect racing

[G-Rock]

Will drivers use KERS down straightaways only (an area where they aren't traction limited to absorb the extra power)?
Coupled with the aero changes, I predict that we may see 4 - 5 lead changes per lap. If you use your KERS to pass someone coming out of a slow corner than you won't be able to defend your position on a straight and vice versa.
It's definetly going to affect racing as we know it (not to mention the purity of the sport.)

[Ciro Pabón]

Good point. De la Rosa also says (after testing the MP4-23K):

« Il demande des réglages très précis sur la voiture, surtout au freinage » confie Pedro de la Rosa, le pilote d’essais de McLaren, sur le site de l’équipe. « Le KERS se recharge lui même, donc quand on freine cela génère une résistance supplémentaire qu’il faut réussir à compenser pour retrouver l’équilibre. Cela implique une interférence avec le frein moteur et l’équilibre des freins.»

"It demands a more precise setup of the car, specially at braking... KERS recharges itself, so, when you brake, it generates a extra resistance that you have to compensate successfully to recover balance... It implies an interference with the motor brake and the balance of brakes."

http://www.f1-action.net/infos/article10136.html

I don't know if the system can be used somehow (differential slip setup?) to influence oversteering. I think KERS will be used differently at different tracks, depending on their "total" curvature. Monza and Monaco come to my mind as extreme examples. Eighty HP are not that much when you talk about final speed, but they seems (to me) to be a lot when you talk about exiting a curve.

[flynfrog]

I don't see it making much of a difference, Maybe for the first few races after that the teams will all have about the same strategy so they will all be using their kers at the same time

[xpensive]

Let's hope you're wrong flynfrog, after the massive investments teams have made on this.

[flynfrog]

Let's hope you're wrong flynfrog, after the massive investments teams have made on this.

Ive said from the beginning this is an expensive gimmick

[xpensive]

Makes two of us, when the stored energy of 400 kJ is 0.11 kWh, which is zip from an energy point of view.

[roost89]

If it's going to be a push-to-pass I can see it going wrong. Someone might hit the button mid-corner by accident and the wheels would light-up and off he goes, onto the grass/asphalt/gravel. Not too much of a bad thing.
I think it's going to be best used, or most often used, off the last corner onto the straight by everyone...it'll be pretty lame. I can't see it affecting overtaking that much, unless someone used the charge elsewhere along the track and hasn't got enough re-charged to negate an attack from behind.
However, if you had to hold the button. I can see it being used in-between corners to gain time on the car in-front. The holding would allow the pilot to use it for a brief moment instead of a pre-alloted time.

I'm hoping it will change the over-taking situation but I doubt it will

[roost89]

Makes two of us, when the stored energy of 400 kJ is 0.11 kWh, which is zip from an energy point of view.

My bag of Nik Naks (crisps/corn snack) has 701kJ in it!

[xpensive]

I'm sure that JP Montoya would have had half a bag of crisps a lap rather than any KERS system...

[DaveKillens]

The key to being a quick driver is to get on the brakes the latest, and on the gas the quickest. The same rules apply to KERS. An aggressive driver will try to activate KERS as soon as possible to gain any advantage on longer straights. So it's possible we will see drivers loop their cars coming out of critical corners such as Parabolica at Monza.
From what I've seen so far, KERS could contribute to instability under hard braking, so it most likely will have to come on gradually, which takes time. So braking distance under KERS may be a fraction longer than before.

[Shaddock]

From what I've read the majority of the time when a driver isn't trying to pass or defending their position it will be set to ‘auto mode’ and will be controlled from the throttle. It will give a few seconds of proportionate extra power as the driver accelerates out of the corner before fading away.

Only when the driver is trying to overtake/defend will it be controllable via a ‘push to pass’ button.

IMO getting the front wing angle right for that part of the track when you are trying to pass or defend will be more critical and likely to be the deciding factor in overtaking.

[axle]

Here's a tongue-in-cheek question: Can the driver/pit crew be electrocuted in the rain?!

[Shaddock]

The car should be earthed as it enters the pit box, but if a driver has to get out of the car trackside or a marshall touches a broken down car then the sparks may fly.

A BMW mechanic got zapped in the dry. Let's hope the insulation holds up.

[xpensive]

Hmmm...another positive with the fly-wheel solution then?

[WhiteBlue]

Fly wheels are electric too.