A pull-rod front suspension for McLaren in 2013?

At its presentation in February, the Ferrari F2012 made a splash among technicians, who witnessed the return of the pull-rod front suspension in Formula 1. This concept, unseen since 2001 with the Minardi PS01, was part of the aggressive approach desired by Scuderia for the season after three title-less campaigns with cars considered too conventional.

The system, which involves connecting the wheel and suspension elements (spring, shock absorbers) by an arm attached to the top of the wheel and to the bottom of the chassis rather than the reverse, has the advantage of lowering the car’s center of gravity by placing these elements lower in the chassis, thus improving the car’s handling in corners. On the downside, due to the height of the Ferrari’s chassis, the suspension responds less decisively to the driver’s inputs and track irregularities, making it more challenging for the driver to feel the car’s behavior and communicate it to the engineers for adjustments.

After 8 races, the F2012 has claimed victory twice, including the Malaysian Grand Prix, which was contested largely in rainy conditions, where driving requires a car with a good level of mechanical grip provided by the tires, chassis rigidity, and also the suspensions. This performance, along with the progress demonstrated by Scuderia since the Canadian Grand Prix with a new exhaust configuration, while the suspensions remained unchanged, tends to prove the effectiveness of such a design.

Indeed, while it can also be argued that with a highly combative Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, any single-seater with a sufficient level can become a winning machine, we must note that the Spaniard cannot defy the laws of physics and therefore cannot push a car beyond its maximum potential. Furthermore, Felipe Massa has also benefited from the progress made by the F2012, at least over a single lap. Finally, given the importance of tires in the performance of the cars this season, it is certain that, with suspensions being very important in their exploitation, a poorly designed front suspension system would have quickly resulted in unsatisfying results, which is no longer the case.

It doesn’t take much to arouse the interest of the competition. Thus, according to OmniCorse.it, McLaren has included front pull-rod suspensions in preliminary studies of what should be the MP4-28 in 2013. The reason for this possible adaptation is a likely regulation change, as the platypus noses could indeed disappear by 2013, as we mentioned in February, for safety reasons in the event of a rear-end collision. Should this be the case, as already planned in the draft of the 2014 regulations published in July, the front of the chassis would be lower, making it possible to attach the pull-rod lower, which addresses the aforementioned flaws. The opposite is true for a push-rod suspension, which would need to be attached lower.

If concretely, this does not guarantee the presence of this system on the 2013 McLaren, it shows that Ferrari is back on the scene as a technology leader in F1, a source of good ideas copied by its competitors, which hasn’t really been the case since 2008. Furthermore, if the next McLaren were indeed to have pull-rod front suspensions, Ferrari would be a year ahead of the Grays in terms of knowledge of the system: while the Scuderia would only have adjustments to make to its suspension for 2013, McLaren would have to discover how it works and undertake more significant tuning work.

There are still 12 races to go in 2012, but if Ferrari were to clinch a title, there’s no doubt it would be a source of inspiration for the 11 other teams, not just for the front suspensions.