Haas Appoints First Female F1 Race Engineer, Laura Muller

Laura Muller from Germany became a part of the Haas team in 2022.

Haas has made significant changes to its race operations team, appointing Laura Muller as the first female race engineer in Formula 1. Muller, a German engineer will work alongside new signing Esteban Ocon, forming part of a team of two new race engineers at Haas. Furthermore, the team has recruited Carine Cridelich, another female hire from Red Bull’s Racing Bulls team to be the new head of strategy, starting on 1 March.

The race engineer plays a crucial role in assisting drivers with car performance, setup and race strategy. In addition, Muller’s counterpart, Ronan O’Hare has been promoted internally to work with rookie Oliver Bearman. Team principal Ayao Komatsu highlighted that the team made hires based on skills, not gender and pointed out that diversity in F1 is growing. He emphasized that work ethic and compatibility with the team were the top priorities.

After joining the team in 2024, Komatsu quickly identified weaknesses in the race operations from the previous season. Despite driving the fifth-fastest car by the end of 2023, execution issues caused the team to miss points and finish unsatisfactorily. To address this, the team appointed Francesco Nenci as the new chief race engineer, leveraging his experience with Audi’s Dakar Rally and Sauber. Additionally, the team promoted Mark Lowe, the former operations team manager to sporting director in order to further strengthen the structure.

Haas operates with a unique structure, relying heavily on its partnership with Ferrari for many resources including design and parts. Moving forward into 2024, the team plans to meet F1’s budget cap and remain competitive. In 2023, Haas finished seventh, ahead of Racing Bulls, Williams and Sauber. Looking ahead, Komatsu aims to build on this success and improve consistency in future seasons, striving to beat competitors despite Haas’ limited resources.