Williams wants to use the KERS in 2010

The Williams team plans to use KERS in their car next year, despite the fact that FOTA (the association of F1 teams) had agreed to drop the system. FOTA teams announced in June that they would not use KERS in 2010 as they considered the technology, used by a minority of teams this year, to be too expensive.

However, the pact might now collapse, with Williams confirming they continue the development of their KERS with the intention of using it in next year’s car: “We fully support the use of KERS and have always done so,” said Williams’ Technical Director, Sam Michael. “Given the environmental and sustainability pressures that Formula 1 will face in the future, KERS is a positive step for the sport. It is part of next year’s regulations, so we are continuing to develop our system with the intention of using it on next year’s FW32.”

Williams, unlike all other teams, developed a KERS using a flywheel spinning at nearly 100,000 revolutions per minute to store, restore, and provide additional power. The other teams opted for the somewhat dangerous solution of using lithium batteries to store energy and then restore it, via a flywheel, directly into the gearbox to supply an additional 80 horsepower.

Williams did not use their KERS this season, and only McLaren and Ferrari used it regularly in races this year. BMW and Renault abandoned it very early in the year, but the latter reintroduced the system in its R28 car at Monza. It is noteworthy that the system using a flywheel, developed by Williams Hybrid Power, will soon equip London buses and subways.

The Grove team recently joined FOTA. Williams, along with Force India, was excluded from the association at the end of May last year when they stopped aligning with the other teams in the standoff against the FIA. The two teams had registered for the 2010 World Championship by accepting the FIA’s conditions before the end of the negotiations.