An F1 seat has to walk a fine line: too loose and a driver fatigues quickly from sliding around under heavy G-forces, too tight and the whole race becomes uncomfortable.
The latest episode of Cadillac’s “What Makes Fast” series follows how the team builds a bespoke seat for its drivers, starting at GM’s Charlotte Technical Center, where a technician pours a liquid foam mixture around the driver as they sit in the chassis on a plastic bag.
Once it hardens, the resulting foam mold gets precisely measured to create a digital model of the seat.
From Digital Model to Race-Ready Part
The team builds the physical seat at its U.K. base near Silverstone, using a natural flax-based fiber weave instead of carbon fiber — a material choice Cadillac says isolates the driver from the car’s vibrations more effectively.
Driver Valtteri Bottas then test-fits the seat in the garage at the British Grand Prix, giving feedback on what does and doesn’t work before the team returns it to the factory for adjustments, adding or removing material as needed.