Heidfeld plays down KERS advantage

BMW's Nick Heidfeld has played down any advantage he might have over team-mate Robert Kubica after the German confirmed he would be the only driver in the squad to race its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in Melbourne this weekend

Heidfeld is lighter and smaller than the Pole, making him the obvious choice to use the new technology because of the effect it has on the car's weight distribution and higher centre of gravity.

But while the 31-year-old believes that KERS will assist him in overtaking and top speed, he claims it has disadvantages as well.

"When you have KERS on board, obviously it is very easy to see the difference in speed, but there are also a couple of disadvantages you have with the KERS," said Heidfeld.

"The centre or gravity is quite a bit higher and the weight distribution is worse and there is a higher chance of having technical problems - especially early in the season. It is a challenge to have it working perfectly under braking conditions, and set-up is pretty new and unknown.

"So there are downsides to weigh up against the positives and that is also why Robert isn't using it and probably all the other teams that are not. It's not straightforward that if you use KERS you will be quicker."

Heidfeld added that he wasn't expecting to reap the benefits of KERS in Albert Park as much as he would at other circuits on the calendar: "I think there are other circuits where it will help more.

"Obviously Monza for example, Malaysia should be better than here, where it is not that straightforward," he added. "And then yes the start could be an advantage, although not so much here because the distance to the first corner is pretty short. And then we hope that it will help in a mid-race fight, but this we will only find out [in time]."