KERS

Of all the major changes to the regs for the 2009 season, KERS arguably presents the most significant challenge. It is uncharted territory for all, and the relative openness of the rules allow for a degree of innovation that hasn't been seen for many years.

One of the biggest challenges with KERS today is cost. In a time when major emphasis is being placed on cost cutting in F1, developing these systems is becoming an increasing portion of the budget even for the largest teams. Red Bull scrapped their system long ago for the one used by engine partner Renault due to cost reasons. And Williams has delayed the introduction of their system until the seventh race of the season at the earliest.

Equally challenging is the technical part and the safety aspect that goes along with it. At the Red Bull factory a fire broke out when a high voltage battery failed during testing, and a BMW mechanic was shocked when he touched the body of the F1.08B in early pre-season testing. These issues have most likely all been resolved, but you can still see the cautionary stickers on most cars.

Many teams (especially Ferrari) had said that they were behind schedule and may or may not use the system in Melbourne, although we are starting to hear less about this as time marches on, the aforementioned Williams team excepted. However, even with KERS functioning reliably, there are still trade-offs with weight and performance and it may or may not make sense depending on the circuit. Even though the car and driver have a combined minimum weight, the 30kg or so the system weighs means that there is that much less ballast to move in the car, which in turn affects weight distribution. Endless computer simulations will be run to improve lap times by valuable tenths of a second. As development progresses KERS will likely be seen in all cars at all tracks, but it will be exciting to see how the drama unfolds. That's what F1 is all about, right?

USF1

Formula 1 is full of rumors. Some believable, some not so much. (Alonso going to Ferrari any time soon is one that the British press can't seem to leave alone.) One that seemed to fall into the latter category surfaced a few months ago, about a new, All-American F1 team based in the NASCAR hub of the country, Charlotte, North Carolina. In the racing world there's more to Charlotte than Cup cars, but the whole thing just sounded absurd. There isn't even an F1 race on this continent for 2009.

Despite all this, the rumors resurfaced last week and were confirmed today that a USF1 car will be on the grid in 2010. Managing the team will be none other than the esteemed Peter Windsor, Speed commentator and most notably former team manager at Williams, where he helped win a world championship. Also leading the team will be Ken Anderson, a former designer and technical director in F1 and most recently an engineer in NASCAR and IndyCar. The team is even close to signing its first driver, rumored to be an American in a junior open-wheel series in Europe.

Speaking of drivers, put someone in the cockpit with a last name like Rahal or Andretti and I think you'll see F1 gain some major popularity in the US. Even Bernie might find it hard to add another venue in the Middle East instead of putting a race or two back in North America.

Major cost cutting in the sport makes this the right time for a new team to surface, even as big players like Honda are on the way out. Getting started with a standardized engine package and maybe even a customer chassis may not put you at the sharp end of the grid right away, but nobody expects to see a new team winning races right away - just look at Toyota.

Good luck guys. Make us proud.