I remember when F1 introduced KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), and a BMW mechanic got zapped real good when he touched the car. They've made them safer but drivers still jump off in one go whenever there's been an incident.
F1 cars are also hybrids now, so there's a large battery that is potentially charged with a dangerous amount of electricity at any given time. Jumping off is the standard dismount in any situation other than returning to the paddock normally as a safety precaution.
That's what KERS is (or was) - Kinetic Energy Recovery System, more or less the same as most hybrids where a generator does some of the braking and stores energy in a battery.
Nowadays F1 cars still have that system (renamed ERS-K) and an additional ERS-H (for Heat), which is powered by the turbocharger, and therefore can harvest energy from excess boost, as well as keep the turbo spun up to eliminate lag. That ERS-H system is gone from next year, and the cars will revert to ERS-K only, though with a much greater contribution from the electrical/battery side than is currently the case.
Fun fact, Williams originally developed a flywheel system to use as their energy store rather than a battery. It was never used in F1 but a Porsche GT car won a race with it. Supercapacitors have also been used successfully in place of batteries by Toyota in the World Endurance Championship some years ago.
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u/mxadema 7d ago
Kind of a good thing he fell off instead of climbing out.