page_title: Kinetic energy recovery system
section_title: Formula One
hierarchical_section_title: Kinetic energy recovery system / Use in motor sport / Formula One
caption_attribution_description: Kimi Räikkönen driving for Scuderia Ferrari at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.
context_page_description: A kinetic energy recovery system is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle's kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir for later use under acceleration. Examples include complex high end systems such as the Zytek, Flybrid, Torotrak and Xtrac used in Formula One racing and simple, easily manufactured and integrated differential based systems such as the Cambridge Passenger/Commercial Vehicle Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
  Xtrac and Flybrid are both licensees of Torotrak's technologies, which employ a small and sophisticated ancillary gearbox incorporating a continuously variable transmission. The CPC-KERS is similar as it also forms part of the driveline assembly. However, the whole mechanism including the flywheel sits entirely in the vehicle's hub. In the CPC-KERS, a differential replaces the CVT and transfers torque between the flywheel, drive wheel and road wheel.
context_section_description: Formula One has stated that they support responsible solutions to the world's environmental challenges, and the FIA allowed the use of 60 kW (82 PS; 80 bhp) KERS in the regulations for the 2009 Formula One season. Teams began testing systems in 2008: energy can either be stored as mechanical energy (as in a flywheel) or as electrical energy (as in a battery or supercapacitor).
  With the introduction of KERS in the 2009 season, only four teams used it at some point in the season: Ferrari, Renault, BMW and McLaren. Eventually, during the season, Renault and BMW stopped using the system. McLaren Mercedes became the first team to win an F1 GP using a KERS equipped car when Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26, 2009. Their second KERS equipped car finished fifth. At the following race, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to take pole position with a KERS car, his teammate, Heikki Kovalainen qualifying second. This was also the first instance of an all KERS front row. On August 30, 2009, Kimi Räikkönen won the Belgian Grand Prix with his KERS equipped Ferrari. It was the first time that KERS contributed directly to a race victory, with second placed Giancarlo Fisichella claiming "Actually, I was quicker than Kimi. He only took me because of KERS at the beginning".
  Although KERS was still legal in F1 in the 2010 season, all the teams had agreed not to use it. New rules for the 2011 F1 season which raised the minimum weight limit of the car and driver by 20 kg to 640 kg, along with the FOTA teams agreeing to the use of KERS devices once more, meant that KERS returned for the 2011 season.  Use of KERS was still optional as in the 2009 season; and at the start of the 2011 season three teams elected not to use it.
  WilliamsF1 developed their own flywheel-based KERS system but decided not to use it in their F1 cars due to packaging issues, and have instead developed their own electrical KERS system. However, they set up Williams Hybrid Power to sell their developments. In 2012 it was announced that the Audi Le Mans R18 hybrid cars would use Williams Hybrid Power.
  Since 2014, the power capacity of the KERS units were increased from 60 kilowatts (80 bhp) to 120 kilowatts (160 bhp). This was introduced to balance the sport's move from 2.4 litre V8 engines to 1.6 litre V6 turbo engines.
caption: Kimi Räikkönen took the lead of the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix with a KERS-aided overtake and subsequently won the race.
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