How it works: The driver’s seat in a Formula 1 car

In the next issue of the ‘How it works’ section, hosted this year by Mercedes, we’ll talk about how such an important unit as the seat is made and how it is adapted to each rider.

Anthony Davidson, who worked with the team as a pilot working on a simulator, dealt with this along with Chris Middleton, a senior technician on the team responsible for assembling the car.

Anthony Davidson: Absolutely, the saddle is the most important thing on which riding comfort depends. However, it is not so easy to see, because it is inside the car, as in a cocoon.

Chris Middleton: The process of making a chair takes quite a long time, but it’s really hard to see something in the car, and it’s better to do it on a workbench.

Anthony Davidson: Does this look like my real car seat? And here’s my personal insert. Whose chair was it originally?

Chris Middleton: This is one of the seats that Valtteri Bottas uses. It all starts with the fact that from a special foam – this is such a two-component chemical composition – we create a kind of imprint of the rider’s body.

This shape is then scanned using 3D technology, after which we use CAD systems and create a carbon chair that looks quite nice.

At this stage, the designers have subjected it to a very important refinement: they can smooth out the roughness and make the seat symmetrical.

Anthony Davidson: What can a rider do when he takes a seat in the cockpit?

Chris Middleton: The position is fixed, but there is the possibility of minor adjustments due to the front and rear mounting points. It allows you to change the height of the seat, but also allows you to change the inclination forward or backward in a small range. This happens on some circuits, particularly in Monaco, where drivers often prefer to sit a little higher in the cockpit.

Anthony Davidson: Yes, there it is more important to get a good view, although the driver usually wants to sit as low as possible in the car, because the center of gravity depends on this. But when it interferes with good vision, these considerations carry more weight.

I think the fans will be surprised to find out that the seat isn’t really hard in the cockpit. It just sits on special pins?

Chris Middleton: Yes, in itself it is not fixed in any way – this is done so that the rider can be removed from the cockpit along with the seat in the event of an accident. And keep it in the seat belts, which also keep the seat in the cockpit.

Anthony Davidson: Thank you, we have heard clear explanations, and when we now see on TV screens how the riders take their places in the cars, we now know a lot more about it.