Hannah Schmitz is one of the few women on the Formula 1 pit wall – As head of strategy at Red Bull, she fights for diversity and against old patterns
Hannah Schmitz is one of the most recognizable women in the Formula One paddock. As a senior strategy engineer at Red Bull, she can regularly be seen on the pit wall during race weekends. As one of the few women there – and sometimes the only one – she often finds herself the focus of the cameras.
In an already stressful position, this attention only adds to the pressure. But Schmitz admits that she has learned to accept it.
For the 39-year-old, there were no female role models in senior engineering positions within the Formula One paddock during her youth. Today, however, she recognizes that she has become one herself.
Like many women in the paddock, Schmitz never intended to make a big deal about her gender. But as diversity and inclusion developed more slowly than she expected, she changed her mind.
“When I started, I almost didn’t want people to see me as a woman – not because I was trying to be a man, but because my gender has nothing to do with my ability to do my job,“ Schmitz says.
”So, my gender shouldn’t really matter at work. But then I felt that over time, diversity would improve on its own. It just takes a little longer in this industry.“
”But then I realized that it’s not just going to happen. We have to be role models and shout about how amazing this job is. I absolutely love my job – it’s fantastic. And anyone can do this job. You don’t have to be a white, middle-class man to be successful,” Schmitz said.
Schmitz actively promotes inclusion at Red Bull
As one of the most well-known women in sports, she has made it her mission to drive initiatives within the company. A gender inclusion network has existed for three years, which she heads together with a colleague from the HR department. Topics related to diversity and inclusion are discussed there.
It consists not only of women, who make up only twelve percent of the Red Bull workforce, but also of men, especially those with daughters, as Schmitz notes.
In addition, she held an external webinar in the run-up to International Women’s Day last Saturday, which anyone could register for. Five women from Red Bull talked about their jobs, which may not be so well known. The aim was to get more women interested in a career in Formula 1 – especially those who are unaware of the opportunities that are actually available to them.
Schmitz herself is undoubtedly inspiring. She completed her mechanical engineering studies at Cambridge and, as she says, always knew that she wanted to do something that nobody expects. Today, she is a mother of two young children and has to balance her family with a high-intensity job.
Her work requires a lot of travel. She is on site at half of the races, and for the other half she works from the Red Bull headquarters in Milton Keynes.
Her inbox is regularly filled with messages from young girls asking for advice on how to get into Formula 1. The number of requests has now become almost unmanageable, but when she has time, Schmitz writes back.
As a woman, you often have to go the extra mile
“Most of the advice you hear at career talks or panels is: Don’t give up on the first try. You shouldn’t immediately think, ‘Oh, I’m not good enough, that’s why I didn’t get the job,’” the engineer emphasizes.
“A lot of people who made it into the industry went the extra mile – whether it was through networking, making contacts, or specifically asking the hiring manager if they even saw the application.“
”A lot of those who ultimately made it had to go that extra mile, which shouldn’t be necessary, but it often is. And there still aren’t really many female role models.”
Schmitz herself didn’t have female role models in her youth either. She found them later when she started a family. Among them was Allyson Felix, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after becoming a mother.
“When I decided to start a family, there were role models – women who returned to work after having children. Because that brings a lot of pressure with it. You hear questions like, ‘Are you sure you want to keep working?’ ‘Are you sure?’ I don’t think men get asked these questions that often.”
“But then I read about other women who returned to their careers after giving birth. For me, Allyson Felix was one of the biggest inspirations – just incredible. Reading stories like hers and thinking, ‘Yes, I can do that too,’ was really empowering, especially during my pregnancy.”
Red Bull now has guidelines for parents – something Schmitz says wasn’t necessarily in place when she had her first child, but she raised it and her employer responded. And not just for mothers: parents now have the option of flying a day later, and for some engineers, the first day of work at the track has been moved from Thursday to Friday.
Of course, this isn’t possible for all positions, but for Schmitz it means that she doesn’t leave for the season-opening race in Melbourne until Tuesday – giving her an extra, precious day with her family.
