Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Moneygram Haas F1 Team driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany (27) drives during the Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images One member of Haas’ revamped racing team has made history.
With her promotion to race engineer by Haas on Tuesday, Laura Mueller will become the first woman in Formula 1 history to lead an engineering team.
Mueller will serve as the race engineer for driver Esteban Ocon, who will debut with Haas when the 2025 campaign begins in March. Ocon had spent the previous four years with Alpine F1 Team.
As race engineer, Mueller will be the primary radio contact for Ocon and will be in charge of evaluating the car’s performance.
She has been with Haas since 2022 and was promoted from her previous role as position performance engineer.
“She’s a pretty determined character,” Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said, per the F1 website. “And then she’s very hard-working. Her work ethic is really, really good.
“… And in terms of looking at it personality-wise, Esteban is a pretty determined character as well. So that side, I think the driving force, I think that personality matches pretty well.”
As part of its overhaul, Haas also lured Carine Cridelich from Racing Bulls to become the team’s new head of strategy in March. Ocon and Ollie Bearman are the two newest drivers to sign with the team. Ronan O’Hare was promoted to serve as Bearman’s race engineer.
Haas enjoyed one of its best seasons in 2024. Its seventh-place finish in the constructors’ championship was the second-best placement in team history, while its 58 points were the team’s most since 2018.
The 2025 F1 season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix, which runs March 16 in Melbourne.
–Field Level Media
