Kubica thinks KERS helps

Robert Kubica, speaking to the BMW Sauber team's official website after retiring one lap into the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix, the Pole admitted that he is currently unable to make use of KERS because of his height and weight, which makes packaging the heavy technology impractical if he is to be competitive. As one of the taller drivers on the grid, his size outweigh any benefits of the extra 80hp boost that the KERS technology provides.

"I think KERS is advantageous in race situations like overtaking and defending your position – and definitely for the start," Kubica, who suffered an engine fire at Sepang, lamented.

"The distance from the start line to the first corner made for bigger gains for KERS cars at the start in Malaysia, but you could already see in Melbourne that KERS does make a difference. If you take the situation between Fernando Alonso and Timo Glock, Fernando was much slower, but he was boosting on every straight and Timo just didn't have the opportunity to pass."