Taking into consideration the new set of rules and technical regulation for the 2022 Formula One championship, this year can be seen as one of technical discontinuity. In this regard, the Design Engineers were given the task of evaluating many new options and consider a complete overhaul of the suspension configuration, testing its performance both in the wind tunnel and their simulators.
And Scuderia Ferrari is no exception, as recently reported by formu1a.uno. The Maranello team has been focusing all its resources on the development of this year’s Formula One car since last summer, as Mattia Binotto, Team Principal and the man in charge of the 2022 project, has explained more than once. The Italian side’s engineers therefore had the time and resources available to thoroughly evaluate many possible options (if not all) by using using their allocated wind tunnel time.
Scuderia Ferrari has decided to go for a more aggressive nose design for the 2022 Formula One car, definitely a more aggressive conceput if we compare it to the one seen on the FIA dummy presented last summer at the British Grand Prix, that was reminiscent of the design of the F14T car (used in the 2014 championship).
As recently reported by Formu1a.uno, Scuderia Ferrari is confident in its decision to use Pull-Rod configuration on the front suspensions – in total contrast with the push rod suspension geometry seen on the latest cars. This call made by the Italian side is manily dictated by aerodynamics: the Pull-Rod configuration allows the flow to be redirected towards the bottom of the car and straight into the cooling inlets, which should also be lower, all matched by a more compact rear end thanks to the cooling “gills” allowed by the new Regulations.
This represents a macro suspension solution that we could see on other cars as well. Just a few days ago, McLaren took to social media to share some revealing pictures of their 2022 chassis; in the cockpit of the MCL36 one can clearly observe attachments for a Pull-Rod suspension configuration.
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The Pull-Rod front suspension configuration is also an advantage in terms of weight distribution and balance due to the internal suspension elements being placed in a lower position, hence lowering the barycenter of the car itself.
The stress load on the new cars will be different in terms of pitch and roll, but this should be balanced out by a more efficient load distribution as well. The front suspensions will help from this point of view because they will lower the barycenter of the car, greatly influencing the behaviour of the car when going through a corner.
Back in 2012 Pat Fry had described the Pull-Rod front suspension configuration as “a bit of an aerodynamic advantage, but also an advantage in terms of weight distribution.”
There are some clear goals that the 2022 Formula One cars will need to meet, such as the above mentioned load distribution in slow speed sectors and an efficient shock absorption system. The front axle management will be particularly crucial in slow speed sectors, where the load will move “forward” and the cars will need to be able to take advantage of the curbs to gain precious lap time. On the contrary, at higher speeds – with the pressure naturally being pushed backwards – rear stability will become the biggest requirement in the new cars.
Another (not less important) reason to adopt a Pull-Rod configuration is directly linked to the new cars being much stiffer, as well as heavier, but also to the new rims and the new 18″ inch Pirelli tyres with a reduced shoulder profile.
