Haas is taking an unusual step ahead of the 2025 season by promoting a woman to race engineer for Esteban Ocon: her name is Laura Müller and she is German
Haas is breaking new ground in Formula 1 by promoting Laura Müller to become the first female race engineer on a team. She will work with Esteban Ocon in the 2025 season and is one of numerous changes the team has made over the winter.
The German studied mechanical engineering in Munich and is an avowed fan of Michael Schumacher. She joined the Haas team in 2022 and initially worked in the simulator before being appointed performance engineer. And now she is taking the next important step for women in motorsport, just like the new chief strategist Carine Cridelich.
According to team principal Ayao Komatsu, Müller was promoted for performance reasons and not because of her gender. Above all, her appointment is of great importance for female engineers and sends a clear signal to the younger generations about what is possible.
Ronan O’Hare, Oliver Bearman’s new race engineer, was also promoted internally by the team. “They both have good potential and great determination,” Komatsu praises. “That’s why we decided on an internal promotion, because it also sends a good signal to everyone else.”
“Instead of bringing in big names from outside with experience, we prefer to promote someone who may not have enough experience but has potential, a good work ethic and good communication skills,” says the Japanese.
Müller and Ocon are a good match
And that’s exactly what Müller brings to the table, according to him: “She’s a determined person. And she’s very hardworking and has a very good work ethic,” he says in praise.
“When I look at the personalities, Esteban is also a very determined person, so I think they will push each other and that their personalities fit together.”
Komatsu continues: “When she sees a problem, she digs into it and is not satisfied with the first answer. Others stop at the first answer and say, ‘Great, I’ve found the solution’ and then move on. But no, she knows there are new questions to be answered.”
“Her determination is therefore something that impresses me the most,“ said the team boss. ‘She is still quite young but has a lot of experience and still needs some guidance and support, but I think that with her work ethic she can progress quite quickly.’
”Laura is the right choice”
“And Laura is the right choice,” he is convinced. ‘Laura came to do the job in the simulator and then some race events. In recent years, we have rotated the performance engineers a bit.’
“When it came to the race engineers, she expressed an interest,” he reveals. “And when it comes to communication over the radio, she is very clear and very calm.”
When it was announced that Esteban Ocon would be joining the team in 2025, Komatsu was convinced that he and Müller would work well together. They had their first assignment last weekend in Jerez, where Haas carried out tests in an old car. Next week, they will then adjust the seat.
