KERS Arrives in F1: Braking system debuts down under

Formula 1 is in Melbourne for the 2009 season opening Australian Grand Prix, and the fur is flying - a totally anticipated happenstance as teams explore the nooks, crannies and edges of the revolutionary new rules imposed by the F.I.A. (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) for 2009.

The aero flap has managed to push other engineering programs - like the optional KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) braking systems - onto the back burner for the time being. Banning the aerodynamic appendages that grew like weeds on F1 cars the past few seasons plus dramatically reducing the wing area sent team aerodynamicists to their CFD (computational fluid dynamics) models and wind tunnels to devise new solutions. As expected, the innovations popped up in hard to see areas - particularly the diffuser area.

Just Thursday, inspectors approved controversial diffuser designs from Toyota, Brawn and Williams, all those decisions now being under appeal, of course. This is, after all, Formula 1.

Meanwhile, the KERS systems will produce roughly 80 horsepower that can be used on demand for about seven seconds a lap. Teams are using two different design schemes to capture and store the kinetic energy generated under braking - either a flywheel or a super-capacitor battery array.

Automakers will be looking closely at KERS development in the extreme operating environment of F1 racing as such systems are already in service on several current hybrids.

Renault and BMW-Sauber have declared their KERS units ready-to-race, but only Renault seems committed to use the system in Melbourne. Last year's championship contenders Ferrari and McLaren also have working units, but have made no announcements regarding this weekend. Packaging and weight appear to be the primary problems at this point, both of which are critical F1 design elements.