Development work on KERS has already begun

To date, the teams have not yet contested a single round of the 2008 season. Nonetheless, the BMW Sauber F1 Team already is working on new technologies for 2009. With the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, KERS, Formula One is to break new ground.

The principle: surplus energy that is created by a Formula One car while driving will no longer go unused. In future, it will be transformed into a propelling force. According to Theissen, this represents a special challenge. "We are very excited by the new energy recovery systems," he admits. "Just imagine: currently they don't even exist in their final specification, but in just 14 months, we are going to use them for racing."

Already, the BMW Sauber F1 Team engineers are making progress when it comes to developing the new systems, says Theissen. "We are working flat out on connecting the combustion engine with an electric motor and an energy store. It's a very exciting phase for a drive system engineer."

Theissen knows that BMW production cars will also benefit from the developments made for Formula One. "It's interesting to see the that the hybrid specialists are already knocking on our door. They are aware that the engineers in Formula One can develop at significantly higher speed," he says.

The advantages for both racing drivers and the day-to-day driver are clearly there to see: while the Formula One drivers can use the stored energy for a short boost of extra power, BMW drivers can look forward to even lower consumption and emission values, thanks to the new, energy saving technology.