Montezemolo: « The introduction of KERS was a mistake »

Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, believes that the introduction of KERS in Formula 1 is a mistake.

The ‘Kinetic Energy Recovery System’ will be implemented in Formula 1 next year, and Ferrari is trying to catch up on the development of the system to have it ready for the start of the season. The Scuderia would have liked more time to work on it further.

Max Mosley, president of the FIA, defended its introduction by considering it a major engineering challenge for the teams.

« It is not possible to do everything. It is a process that unfolds year after year. The KERS is a mistake. It will be discovered that there is nothing to share between an F1 car and a civilian car, » claimed the Italian, who recalled that the introduction of KERS in F1 had been decreed to help the automotive industry design it for their cars.

« KERS accounts for a large part of F1 expenses for 2009. »

« I am not against the principle of KERS because we need to highlight the fact that teams are striving to be environmentally friendly. What would have been preferable was to consider the long term, three or four years, in order to work on an engine/KERS package. »

Moreover, Luca di Montezemolo once again criticized races like Singapore.

« Having two or three Monte Carlo races is too much, » he added. « Next time, we will have a race inside the Colosseum, or maybe at the Vatican. This is not racing! »

« I think we need more circuits where overtaking is possible, where the public can enjoy this competition. One of the problems in F1 lies in improving these confrontations so that the race is considered successful when it rains or after the intervention of the safety car. »