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No delay to introduction of KERS

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) will be introduced to Formula One as originally planned next year, despite talks this weekend about delaying their use

Team principals and technical chiefs held discussions at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday to see if there was consensus on postponing the debut of KERS until 2010, with some outfits having concerns over safety issues and the cost of developing them.

But with Williams and Honda outspoken in their belief that KERS should go ahead as scheduled next year, any bid to agree on a delay has been dropped.

However, the teams are unified in moving to slow down the scope of KERS systems over the longer term following a recent letter from FIA president Max Mosley outlining his vision for their use over the next few years.

Honda Racing team principal Ross Brawn said his team opposed a delay on KERS because they think the technology will have huge benefit for the Japanese manufacturer's road car branch.

"It's important for Honda and some of the other manufacturers because it's one of the technologies that has a nice link back into the car technology," he said.

"Whether you look at it overall in F1 and say, is the investment needed a valid one for F1 is a difficult one for us to judge. But it's certainly valid for Honda."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who had spoken at length in the meeting, said that he was annoyed by the attitude of some people in the meeting that took place in the Toyota motorhome.

"What I find particularly frustrating is that all the people that were there, were not the people who sign the cheques," he explained.

"I was keen to make very clear the consequences of us not finding a constructive way forward. But I'm just passionate, and I voiced my opinion about that. That was the only thing that was an issue. It's just a commercial issue."

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