For the 2009 Formula 1 season a new energy recovery system is being introduced. This means that the car will be powered partly by a rechargeable battery as opposed to the engine. This is seen as a more environmentally friendly means of powering a car, instead of using a fuel burning engine.

The official title for these systems is KERS which stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

It involves a battery that charges up under braking. The driver can then use this battery to give the car an extra boost of power once per lap for a max of 6.5 seconds.

Its a very new technology and a lot of teams are not willing to use for the first few races at least, until they have perfected it. BMW and Ferrari are considering using it however.

In future years we may see more power being generated in this way in F1 as it tries to shake off its image of a gas guzzling sport.