05/05/2010
NEWS STORY
McLaren's chief engineer, Tim Goss, has thrown his support behind plans which would see the returns of KERS and turbocharged engines.
Speaking in an on-line press conference, Goss said the sport needs to agree on a new engine formula which is fuel efficient, thereby demonstrating its green credentials, whilst providing performance.
Last month, Pitpass exclusively revealed that the powers that be are seriously considering a switch to 1.5 litre powerplants in 2013 together with the return of turbochargers.
"As far as the 2013 engine is concerned, I think that F1 does need to move on and show that it is moving in a fuel-efficiency age," said Goss. "So we fully support all the moves that the Engines Working Group and FOTA are doing to push the sport in that direction.
"The concept of a 2.4-litre V8 is getting a little bit dated now," he continued, "and I think the move to turbo-charged engines with KERS is the right thing to do.
"Obviously Formula One does need to maintain itself in terms of being at the pinnacle of motorsport and engine performance. Somehow we've got to come up with an engine formula that is associated with high performance but also with fuel efficiency and modern technology. So overall I think we're moving in the right direction and we fully support it."
Goss also supports the return of KERS, which could be back on the cars next year, however, he feels a decision must be made soon as teams are now beginning to work on the 2011 cars.
"We fully support what FOTA and the FIA are trying to do in terms of KERS," he said. "Certainly for using it for next season, it is getting a bit late in the day. There are a lot of people working on this. We understand the need for KERS in terms of its association with road car technology, and that it's the right thing to bring it back. So really we'll just go along with whatever FOTA and the FIA decide, as far as next year is concerned.
"We learned an awful lot when we developed the KERS system for 2009 and Mercedes and ourselves did a particularly good job of it. But in the current environment of cost restrictions then the right thing to do is to cap the cost of KERS in some way, or it could potentially escalate and get very expensive. It certainly is realistic to reduce the cost and put the power up. A knock-on effect of that is that it's going to get a little bit bigger and heavier.
"A lot of the improvement we made to our KERS system last year was the ability to downsize the system, which then makes it easier to package on the car and gives you freedom to get the weight distribution correct."