Kubica set to race KERS in Bahrain

The Pole ran with the system during Friday practice in China before abandoning it for the rest of the weekend, but team principal Mario Theissen says that the team expects Kubica to race the system alongside regular KERS user Nick Heidfeld.

Kubica has previously not raced with KERS before because, as one of the heavier drivers, the extra weight of the unit, an estimated 25-30kg, means he can't run crucial set-up ballast. This has a negative effect on the weight distribution.

"We plan to run KERS on both cars here," said Theissen. "It will be reviewed on Friday night, but the current plan is to run it on both cars."

Theissen has always insisted that Kubica's KERS situation is being revised on a race-by-race basis and that the layout of the Sakhir circuit means there will be a clear performance benefit for him.

"It's not a sudden change," said Theissen. "It's what we announced prior to Melbourne already - we will look into it on a race-by-race basis depending on the track layout. Here it is predicted to be an advantage.

"This is based not just on data from the winter, but also the experience of the first three races. It makes us confident that it is an advantage here."