BMW ditch KERS for Spanish GP

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld's F1.09s won't be equipped with KERS during this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Heidfeld used KERS during the first four races of the season while Kubica's car was equipped with the system during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

However, BMW's decision to introduce an "extensive aerodynamics-focused development package" in Barcelona has had a knock-on effect on their usage of KERS.

"We will not have KERS in our two cars in Barcelona, because bringing in an aero update and running KERS does not work," team principal Mario Theissen is quoted by Autosport.
"We will have KERS on our cars probably in Turkey again."

Theissen admits they are satisfied with the way KERS worked during the opening four races of the season.
"As a technology our summary is very positive," he said. "It worked without failures. The positive result of KERS so far was that it worked even in the monsoon of Malaysia.
"We did not use it constantly because of our car configuration. Given slick tyres and the weight distribution, you need a good weight on the front axle, whereas KERS is placed in the middle of the car and cause more weight there, or even in the back."