Andretti Cadillac Racing may still be waiting to find out whether it will be granted a place on the F1 grid but that hasn't slowed down preparations.
The American outfit was the only proposed entry to pass through the FIA's criteria last season and now awaits the decision from the commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, and F1 bosses to determine whether its value is enough to be added to the incumbent teams.
Nick Chester is a vital figure on Andretti's roster of staff, having spent 20 years working with 'Team Enstone', having joined Benetton in 2000 before working his way up to the role of Technical Director for Lotus and Renault from 2013 onwards.
Speaking to The Athletic, Chester explained: “It's a team that wants to do it properly and wants to win,” Chester said in an interview with The Athletic.
“You don't want to be anywhere that doesn't have that ethos.
“As I started talking before I joined, the resource behind it, the effort that was going to go behind it to make it win, just made it very, very attractive.”
One of the key boosts behind the entry bid is the support of General Motors, which has not only thrown investment into the team but also signed up as a power unit provider from the 2026 season.
“We wouldn't have got half of what we've got done now without GM's involvement," added Chester.
“It's not an arrangement where you throw things backwards and forwards, it's much more like one team. It's getting really nicely integrated.”
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Wind tunnel run
Despite Andretti's wait to find out whether it will be permitted to join F1, preparations are well underway with the team going as far as running a car model in the wind tunnel.
“If everybody knows you're just pushing on, then everybody's focusing on their own areas, trying to generate as much performance as they can,” explained Chester.
“That generates a great atmosphere, so that's the way we've gone about it.”
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