GPDA to stay out of KERS debate
Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) director Mark Webber says he is happy to leave decisions about Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) to the teams and the FIA, despite the latest safety scares
In the wake of a fire fright at Red Bull Racing's factory and a BMW mechanic suffering an electric shock at Jerez in Spain this week, there have been growing questions about whether KERS should still go ahead next season.
But although Webber and the GPDA are always keen to get involved in anything that helps improve safety, the Australian says that this time he has total faith in the teams and the FIA to get it right.
"It is up to the TWG (Technical Working Group) and the FIA," Webber told autosport.com. "Between those two, they have to get it right.
"As a technical change to the regulations we are looking at doing something pioneering for the sport. I don't know anything about this stuff, so we have to leave it to the experts.
"Is eight months enough time to get it ready? I don't know. Can we honestly say that all the drivers, all the marshals, and all the personnel will be ready? If yes, then great."
Webber acknowledged that he did have some concerns about KERS, and hoped that there would not any more serious issues regarding safety of the devices.
"It is natural a lot of people are worried about it and a lot of people are talking about it," he said. "For the drivers we don't know a huge amount about it.
"As we saw at Jerez, people are trying to develop it as we go. We have to leave it to the experts, but the question is, is it going to be rushed on too fast for next year's racing? Normally in life you learn from your mistakes but with this sort of stuff you hope no one learns in a bad way."
He added: "Research is the most important thing. It has to be airplane proof that it is not going to let us down."
And he even admitted to not wanting to know too much about what can go wrong with a KERS so he did not scare himself.
"Conveniently, I don't want to know about it, as the more I dig the more I get nervous. It is probably better to not learn too much about it."
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