Laura Müller makes history as F1’s first female race engineer with Haas

Laura Müller has marked her name in Formula 1 history by becoming the championship’s first female race engineer. Following a raft of changes at Haas, the German has been promoted within the team and will work alongside new driver Esteban Ocon this year.

In a landmark moment for F1, Müller has made the switch from performance engineer ahead of the 2025 season. The role is one of the most senior trackside positions within the team. The race engineer acts as the main link between the driver and the team, both on and off the track.

Haas have also appointed Carine Cridelich as their new head of strategy, starting with the team in March following a lengthy search. Cridelich joins the US-based team from rivals Racing Bulls.

Laura Müller ‘the right choice’ for Haas

Following the milestone in-house move for Müller, team principal Ayao Komatsu stressed how the 33-year-old is the right candidate for the job.

“She’s a pretty determined character, and then she’s very hardworking. Her work ethic is really, really good. What she’s really good at is, when she sees a problem, she digs deep, and she doesn’t stop at the first answer. Some people, when they find the answer, first answer, they stop there. They think, ‘Oh, great, I found the solution, move on.’ She has a good work ethic such that when she finds the first solution, she knows that there’s 10 things, now you’ve got new questions to answer.

“Her determination is the one that impresses me the most. If you look at how many female engineers we have in the office, it’s definitely more than before. But 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 maximise the performance. I believe it is the right choice.”

Müller will work with newcomer Ocon, who joined Haas from Alpine over the winter. The French driver takes the vacant seat following Kevin Magnussen’s departure at the end of the season. Ocon will partner with British rookie Ollie Bearman, who will work alongside Ronan O’Hare — joining Müller in the step up from performance engineer to racing engineer.

Haas finished seventh in the F1 standings last season with 58 points, ahead of Racing Bulls, Williams and Kick Sauber.

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