F1 » Ferrari president: KERS in 2009 'a mistake'

If I understand KERS correctly it appears that electrical energy generated under deceleration is stored and used to assist the car accelerate,surely this means when a car crashes on a corner this is at the end of a heavy braking period and having stored this energy will discharge large amounts through handy metal object eg steel barriers and catch fencing. Racing under wet conditions if a car crashes and the driver is trapped how safe are the rescue crew I was always taught water and electricity dont mix and personaly would not want to be the first marshal to touch a wet car. Having already seeing reports of electrocuted mechanics this system needs a serious rethink on safety grounds.

Finnish Fan... I am working on F1 KERS systems.
Skally... you are correct in your description of how KERS works but i think the safety concerns have been overstated. The cars have grounding strips and the cells (for the electrical based system) will be encased in insulating, impact absorbant material. i do worry about the mechanical based system that employs a flywheel to store energy. in the event of a failure you have high mass, high velocity material flying around! :-(
what has to be remembered is potentially KERS will result in a performance improvement because the engine will be assisted during acceleration & deceleration so it doesn't result in slower cars but faster lap times.

In answer to Mark_'s post my understanding of the ultimate aim of the KERS technology is that when it is developed to the point where it is making the cars significantly quicker the engine regulations will be changed to reduce output therefore you will end up with a power output equal to a non-KERS car but more fuel efficient becuase of the KERS system.

Hope i explained that well enough so it made sense!!!! lol

If it's cost cutting and relevance that F1 is seeking, I think Mad Max has got it way wrong.

What I would like to see in the sport is:
A control Chassis (This would cut costs, and useless developement of aero and suspension)
A mandatory KERS/Hybrid system
A MAX. Fuel allowance with the freedom to have any size, shape, material combustion engine, with the fuel allowance reduced each year at a feasible rate.
Removal of Park Ferme conditions, and a practice session on the morning of the GP.
Just speaking my mind here...
Maybe even 1 or 2 enduro events.