BMW undecided on KERS for Australia
BMW is leading the way in KERS development and is one of the few teams who could yet use it at the Albert Park. But for now Theissen is remaining hush on whether they will.
"As far as KERS is concerned, our system will be race-ready in Melbourne. We sent the cars out regularly with KERS during testing and the results were very good. Now it's just a matter of weighing up the pros and cons," he said.
"On the positive side, the drivers would have an extra 82 hp at their disposal for 6.6 seconds per lap. However, the system adds weight to the car and this has an impact on the car's weight distribution and tire wear.
"We will make a decision on a driver-by-driver, circuit-by-circuit basis."
The German, though, is confident that KERS or no KERS, BMW have the car needed to challenge for a podium finish in Australia, having achieved that goal last season.
"Last year Nick (Heidfeld) took second for us in the first race of the season, and we're hoping that we get off to a good start in Albert Park once again this year," he said.
"We are heading in the right direction with the BMW Sauber F1.09; both the drivers and the engineers came back with positive feedback during testing. Plus, Nick and Robert (Kubica) carried out full race simulations without suffering any technical problems."