In the heart of a region known for its oil production, Formula One sent out an inadvertent message that its new hybrid cars are slower than the old-fashioned ones that depend entirely on the internal combustion engine.
But at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, the new Kinetic Energy Recovery System, or KERS, that gives power bursts to the hybrids, also proved that it has succeeded in its other goal of improving the show with more interesting racing.
It was again Jenson Button in a non-hybrid Brawn car who crossed the finish line first, taking his third victory of the season and the fourth of his 157-race career.
The Bahrain circuit, with its long straights and heavy braking and accelerating out of low-speed corners, was the most important track so far for the KERS system.
Click Here For More Formula 1 Photos
Half of the 20 cars use the system, which stores energy under braking and allows the driver to reuse it in short power bursts that assist in overtaking.
But the cars without KERS have an advantage because they weigh less, and several of them also have a superior aerodynamic system, known as a double diffuser, which controls air flow out the rear of the car. New York Times
But so far this season, no KERS car has won a race. On Sunday in Bahrain, only three KERS cars made it into the points, and the first of these was Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren Mercedes, which finished only fourth. So the message being sent out by F1 at the moment is that its hybrid cars may be more environmentally friendly than in the past, but they sure are a lot slower.
So it will be interesting to see how long this state of affairs lasts before the KERS cars begin to take the upper hand and prove that F1 really is a great laboratory. Sure, KERS on road cars is not there to induce great speed, or even improved speed. But it IS there for that in F1. The series will have to start proving it can improve with the KERS, since the goal is advance its development.
The biggest embarrassment on this level has to be the last and second last place finish of the two BMW Sauber cars, as BMW was the team pushing most for KERS. New York Times
Mosley sees in them a way F1 can be relevant to the future direction of road-car technology as well as protecting itself against accusations of profligacy in a world in which fossil fuels are running out and CO2 emissions urgently need to be reined in.
The systems, similar to those that are becoming increasingly prevalent in road cars, give a power boost of about 80bhp for nearly seven seconds a lap - and the fact that some teams are using them and some are not has led to some great racing between Kers and non-Kers cars this year.
Click Here For More Formula 1 Photos
At the moment, teams are free to develop their own Kers systems - with the main restriction being the amount of energy that can be released in one lap.
The problem is that developing them is very expensive - some teams are said to have spent as much as £45m on Kers - at a time when the world is in the middle of the biggest global financial crisis for decades.
Even before this season started, there was a move to delay their introduction by a year. And now there are calls for them to be banned - with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore apparently leading the way
That looks unlikely to happen - partly because, as McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh puts it, after starting work on a technology that is “relevant and interesting”, it would be a shame to abandon it. But also because of Mosley’s powerful backing.
But there is certainly a lot of discussion about what should happen. BBC Sport
| 
|