Formula one teams are looking outside of the paddock for assistance with the looming KERS era.

It emerged this week that McLaren intends to collaborative with Freescale Simiconductor, a Motorola spinoff, from F1's second year of the energy-recovery technology in 2010.

At the same time, it was being reported in the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that Bosch, a major German technology company, is working on an electronic KERS system for deployment in the world of motor racing.

A spokesman confirmed that discussions with teams from various racing series are taking place.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the Fiat subsidiary Magneti Marelli is working with F1 teams including Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Toro Rosso on KERS systems.

These developments coincided with Ferrari president and FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo's renewed criticism of the deployment of KERS in formula one for 2009.

"The future looks very complicated with these new regulations," he is quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

The Italian said the costs related to KERS development are "prohibitive", and insisted that the technology will not flow directly into the road car industry.

Source: GMM