Hamilton: KERS will not be so useful in the race

Lewis Hamilton thinks that the advantage KERS will give him for this Grand Prix in Monza will not be so significant.

The KERS played a crucial role on Saturday in securing Lewis’s pole position for McLaren at Monza, but the few tenths gained in qualifying at the beginning of the lap will be less important in the race.

With only three heavy braking points per lap at Monza, Hamilton believes it will not be enough to fully recharge the KERS on each lap. Knowing that it, depending on the recharge settings, disrupts the balance and braking power of the car to varying degrees.

«I think that during the race, it will clearly be an advantage at the start, but it’s not a great track for recovering energy,» he explained. «We’ll probably run out of energy after 5 laps and it will take several laps to recharge the Kers.»

On most other tracks, it can be used on every lap, and we can be sure of never running out, so it may be difficult for us. But it will be beneficial for potential overtaking.

Despite the heavy braking at the first chicane, Hamilton’s teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, states that the nature of these is not ideal for recharging the KERS.

«We are limited by the charging power rather than by the braking distances. he explains. «So we draw the maximum charging power but this disrupts the braking. »

«If we don’t use it for a lap, we can fully recharge it. But we will need to make compromises to always keep some KERS and be able to use it at the right moments.»