Marussia Racing opt against KERS

Marussia [Virgin] will not run KERS in 2012.

With the recent news that Caterham [Lotus] will be running KERS next season thanks to a deal they have struck with Red Bull Racing, the Marussia decision is the first indication that Caterham do hold a credible chance of breaking away from the 'three Formula One newbie teams' bracket and into to a mid-pack contender.

The Marussia team have undergone a major restructuring overhaul over the past year and the team formally known as Virgin Racing do intend on being more competitive this season, but the energy recovery system, which is worth as much as four-tenths of a second per lap at some tracks will have to wait.

'With the strides we are looking to make from this year, our focus has to be on aerodynamics first and foremost - as this will yield the greater gains, We are looking for seconds rather than tenths.' Marussia team principal John Booth told Autosport Magazine.

'Our wider view of KERS is that whilst we are supportive of the concept of regenerative braking as an environmental initiative, the current technology is incredibly expensive, It would represent a significant proportion of our operating cost, which is not in keeping with our original manifesto as a low-cost F1 team in an era of resource restriction.'

Marussia formally Virgin Racing, joined Formula One in 2010 alongside Caterham formally Team Lotus and HRT formally Hispania.

The three newbie teams have all undergone different transformations since entering F1 and while they have yet to catch-up the more established teams on the grid, just the fact that they are all heading into a third season in Formula One is a major achievement for teams operating on lower budgets.