It's Official. Formula One cars will by hybrids next year!

While watching Formula One qualifying Thursday night on the Speed Channel, they announced that just this week, the FIA officialized the rules and schedule for 2009. Formula One will have the option of implementing "KERS" (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) on the 2009 cars, which will implement regenerative braking, battery storage, and electric motor assist. If it is an "option," why would the teams want to do this? Let's assume you already have 600hp, and you can add an extra 100hp from an electric motor assist; now you have 700hp and your opposition only has 600hp. But wait! Doesn't the weight of the batteries offset the horsepower advantage? Currently, Formula One has a minimum weight requirement, and many of the teams actually have to add weights to the car to bring it up to the minimum weight (most commonly ~150 pounds). So, they can toss 150 pounds of weights, add the batteries, and gain 100hp!

So, why do YOU care? Because, Formula One has been the forefront of testing and refining most of the technologies that we use in our street cars today. When ABS, traction control, electronic transmission control, and electronic monitoring of our cars first made it to street cars, it was anything but perfect. But from refinement in Formula One racing, these technologies improved significantly to what we have in our street cars today. Now, Formula One will be refining the hybrid systems. Many Formula One teams spend $400 Million each season! That's a lot of research and development going into one car!

Although I learned the above from television, here is an article that mentions KERS. Btw, the Japanese Grand Prix is tonight at 9pm California time, channel 318.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081009/ts_afp/autoprixjpnenvironment_081009163322

 

I have little knowledge of the actual KERS technology. I'm going to Google it soon. If you have any good links, please post them.

With F1, there is constant braking and accelerating, but with Nascar, it is like driving on the freeway the whole time. Hybrid technology would not make sense in Nascar. I agree that Nascar is excellent for marketing, but the actual type of racing would not benefit from hybrid technology. Maybe solar, Lol.

 

Thanks! Good 'ol Wikipedia!
That article has some cool history in it too, such as "Toyota has used a supercapacitor for regeneration on Supra HV-R hybrid race car that won the 24 Hours of Tokachi race in July 2007."

(60kW)(1.34 hp/kW) = 80.4 horsepower.