Image shows the push rod suspension in the F150 (2011) & pull rod suspension in the F2012 (2012)
Ferrari is sticking with its unique pull-rod front suspension layout for a fourth consecutive season
Ferrari has been using the pull rod suspension since 2012, which had not previously been seen at the front of a F1 car since Minardi in 2001.
A pullrod layout can mean a lower nose, suspension and centre of gravity, but it is also known to be difficult to tune and less responsive to setup changes.
There are two main disadvantages to front pull-rod suspension. One is that the the upper wishbone must transmit more load, some of which would otherwise have been carried by the push-rod.
The second disadvantage is it takes longer tune a pull-rod. This is important given the limited testing time in F1 today. Teams need to rapidly tune spring and damper settings and if the components are hidden away this is trickier and potentially reduces valuable track time.
Raikkonen had a season to forget last year and had been constantly complaining about the lack of precision at the front, which is a characteristic of pull rod suspension.
