Klien: BMW ahead of rivals with KERS

Despite a setback earlier this year when a team mechanic suffered an electric shock during track testing of KERS, Klien believes BMW Sauber have stolen the march on the opposition.

And the Austrian believe the team will make further steps forward during the six days of post season testing that he is scheduled to do before Christmas.

"It goes without saying that every team is trying to come to terms with all this as quickly as possible," Klien told the official BMW Sauber website. "I am certain that we at BMW are furthest on with our preparations.

"Not all teams will have KERS next year - it is optional. No team has been successful with it on the track so far. We will really start getting to grips with it during the winter tests after Brazil. Anyone starting the season with KERS will certainly have an advantage."

F1 teams had discussed delaying the introduction of KERS until 2010 during meetings in China as a means of cutting costs, but it is understood unanimous approval could not be met after the BMW board refused to sanction the move.

BMW have been championing the KERS cause and motorsport director Mario Theissen has spoken frequently about how the technology is an important step for F1.