McLaren to follow Ferrari’s ‘pull-rod’ lead in 2013
A little more than a month ago, the Spanish sports daily Marca said the British team's MP4-28 – like Ferrari's current F2012 – will have pull-rod front suspension.
Until 2012, the configuration had not been seen since Fernando Alonso raced a Minardi more than a decade ago.
Ferrari struggled initially this season, but Marca said the Italian team's giant strides of progress since then piqued the interest of McLaren's technical director, Paddy Lowe.
"Obviously, at the start, after the winter tests, we were a bit behind," Ferrari's British technical director, the former McLaren man Pat Fry, said this week.
"I think we learned a lot in this period and used that later on.
"In my opinion, we have overtaken a large part of the other teams in terms of development over the season — we staged a good recovery, but there is still a long way to go."
Similar information about McLaren's pull-rod approach for 2013 is now being reported by Autosprint, the authoritative Italian motor racing weekly.
"A few months ago it would have been unthinkable," said the publication's Alberto Antonini.
Antonini also said it is "likely" Ferrari will keep the pull-rod layout for its 2013 car.