KERS 'not necessary' for Red Bull in Australia

(GMM) Red Bull did not use KERS in Australia because it was "not necessary", the team's advisor Dr Helmut Marko has admitted.

Officially, the team said its decision to run without the energy-recovery technology to dominate in Melbourne was due to its system not being fully reliable.

But Marko told Auto Bild in Germany: "Just look at the problems the others have had with KERS. Why should we use it if it's not necessary?"

In Malaysia this weekend, KERS might be necessary, given the long run to the first corner and the other long straights at the Sepang circuit.

Red Bull tested KERS in Melbourne on Friday and those practice tests will be repeated this Friday.

"Having inspected all the components (after Australia) our confidence has grown," team boss Christian Horner told the BBC. "If it runs well on Friday in Malaysia it will make its race debut during the Malaysia weekend."

Marko said Red Bull's new relationship with Nissan's Infiniti brand could be useful as the team, which didn't use KERS in 2009, looks to introduce the technology.

"This (relationship) could be an advantage because (Infiniti) is a leader in the hybrid field," said the Austrian.