Renault F1 has become the first team to confirm it will use its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) at the Australian GP in Melbourne on 29 March.
After topping the second day of testing at Jerez with Fernando Alonso yesterday, Renault confirmed that it would run the system from the start of the season. It is estimated that KERS will give the team an 80bhp boost for 6-7sec per lap.
Technical director Bob Bell said: "The biggest surprise for [us] was perhaps the KERS system, as we felt that initially we would have a lot of problems with it and getting the drivers used to it. In reality it has been quite a straightforward transition."
Teams have previously expressed concerns about the cost of developing KERS, and queried whether the weight of fitting it on the car negates any performance advantage.
Williams, Toyota, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Force India and Brawn GP have all said they will race without KERS in Australia.
That just leaves McLaren, BMW-Sauber and Ferrari, which have yet to say whether they will run the system.
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