NOVEMBER 30, 2010

KERS and adjustable rear wings set to tax drivers

Lewis Hamilton has had his first experience of the 2011 McLaren in the team's simulator and reports on Twitter that it is going to be tricky to co-ordinate KERS and moveable rear wings next year.

Lewis Hamilton, Brazilian GP 2010
© The Cahier Archive

Lewis Hamilton has had his first experience of the 2011 McLaren in the team's simulator and reports on Twitter that it is going to be tricky to co-ordinate KERS and moveable rear wings next year, even though he felt at home with the systems.

BBC commentator and analyst Martin Brundle has already said that he thinks the new combinations could be challenging for both drivers and TV viewers.

"I'm concerned that there will be so much going on with the technical side," Brundle said. "God knows how the teams are going to choose a seventh gear when they've got effectively 160bhp extra on tap with the rear wing slot gap and KERS.

"I think it's essential now that the cars have some sort of light on the back, for example, and another light on the front so that the viewers and the fans at the track understand. It's a safety thing as well - if someone is coming at you in the slipstream and then all of a sudden he can change his rear wing and hit the KERS button, you are going to have contact at the worst place on the track, the end of the high speed straight. It's hard to judge -- you're looking in your mirrors, you're doing 200mph and it's quite a judgement call as to how quickly the guy is coming at you.

"I think there has to be a red light front and rear which says he's used his wing option, and a flashing red light that says he's used his wing and his KERS. Whatever they do needs to be very transparent because the first rule is, don't confuse your audience."