Laura Mueller Breaks Barriers as F1’s First Female Race Engineer

In a groundbreaking move for Formula 1, Haas has appointed Laura Mueller as the sport’s first ever full-time female race engineer. Mueller, who joined Haas in 2022 and served as their performance engineer, will take the role of Esteban Ocon’s race engineer for the upcoming 2025 season.

Mueller’s journey to this historic achievement has not gone unnoticed by Haas’s leadership, with Team Principal Ayao Komatsu having a few comments to make about her and why she was the right fit for the role.

“She’s going to be Esteban’s Race Engineer. 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.”

“She has a good work ethic such that when she finds the first solution, she knowns that there’s 10 things, now you’ve got new questions to answer.”

“Her determination is the one that impresses me the most.”

Despite the appointment being a historic move for both the team and the sport, Komatsu made it clear that Mueller was chosen for the role based on merit, not solely for the reason of diversity in the workplace.

“[It’s] not like I chose Laura because she’s female.”

“We don’t care [about] nationality, gender — it really doesn’t matter because what matters is work. How you can fit into the team, how you can maximize the performance. I believe it is the right choice.”

The appointment also marks a step towards greater representation of women in technical roles within not just Formula 1 but motorsport in general. The sport and its governing bodies, such as the FIA, have introduced initiatives to encourage more women to pursue careers in motorsport. Programs such as “Girls on Track” aim to increase the visibility of opportunities in STEM fields in motorsport-related roles.

Mueller’s achievement provides a visible example of women taking on high-level technical roles in the sport. While her promotion is a first in Formula 1, other areas of the industry have seen women hold prominent positions, such as team management and test driving roles.

For the 2025 season, Mueller will partner a new-coming Esteban Ocon, an experienced competitor in the sport itself, entering his 10th Formula 1 season this year. The pairing is expected to bring a dynamic synergy to the team as the American team looks to climb further ahead in the midfield and higher in the Constructors’ standings.

In terms of the team’s future, Mueller’s appointment is part of a broader restructuring effort by the Haas team with them bringing in Carine Cridelich, Francesco Nenci, and Mark Lowe as the Head of Strategy, Chief Race Engineer, and Sporting Director respectively. These changes to essential positions in the team aim to strengthen Haas’s technical and operational capabilities as they build on their seventh-place finish in the 2024 Constructors’ standings.

Komatsu, entering his second year as the team principal with Haas, commented on why the changes were necessary, stating that following his first season at the top of the team’s leadership, these areas were “one of the weakest areas” of the team.

He explained how they missed out on opportunities, stating that “[they] left too many points on the table from the trackside operation,” implying that while the car was ready for better performances, they were unreachable due to what was happening behind the scenes.

Komatsu further commented on why they chose this season to make the changes with the completely new regulations coming into effect for the 2026 season.

“[We] decided we’d rather do it this year that in 2026 with the complete new generation cars. So, at least the regulation, technical regulations are stable. What we’re dealing with sporting-wise is stable.”

He added that they “[couldn’t] keep putting it off” with the changes having to happen at some point, with the better option seemingly being before the clean sweep of the regulation changes.

Featuring an all-new driver lineup including a veteran and a rookie alongside the new changes to the management team, there are high hopes for the American team for the upcoming season, with even a possibility to shoot to the front of the midfield being feasible.