Kubica expects KERS to hamper him

BMW Sauber have been a major supporter of KERS, while some other teams have suggested that its introduction is an unnecessary expense amid the current round of cost reductions. Several squads will start the season without the device as they are still working to perfect it.

Kubica said he had mixed feelings about KERS, because as one of the heavier drivers on the grid he thinks the added weight it brings will affect his performances, but he thinks it is now too late to abandon the system.

"Our car for sure will also run without KERS," he told the official Formula One website.

"And it is my opinion that the car built without KERS can go quicker compared to the car that was built with KERS but is not using it. KERS needs space, and if you then don't use it, it means that you are wasting space. We are analysing what is better and in which direction the development should go.

"My demand is that we are use the most powerful and best performing car at the first race. I would prefer the car without KERS in that I have a bigger disadvantage with KERS. And this is a fact that all taller and heavier drivers agree on, as there is additional weight on the car, but the minimum weight of the car plus driver has stayed the same as last year, so this seems like a disadvantage."

The Pole said BMW are likely to wait until the end of winter testing before deciding whether to use KERS in the early races, as it was still hard to quantify its benefits.

"I think it is a bit too early to say exactly what the difference is because KERS is at quite an early stage, although we have already put in a lot of work," said Kubica.

"It is still almost impossible to explain the difference in how the car feels with or without KERS. From my personal point of view - as I am a tall and heavy driver - it is not really positive, as the weight of KERS is influencing quite a lot, especially when it comes to weight distribution, so it is limiting me quite a lot.

"It is nice when you press it as you feel an additional boost. Yes, it works, but we have to see in the later stages when we are closer to the first race which configuration is the quicker one - I think this is the most important issue."