Why Haas thinks ground-breaking new F1 race engineer is perfect fit for Ocon

It was the first name that stood out on the presentation slide displayed on the wall in one of the meeting rooms in Haas’ UK factory in Banbury.

Alongside the appointments of Ronan O’Hare as Oliver Bearman’s race engineer, plus the return of Mark Lowe as sporting director, Laura Mueller’s name was confirmed as Esteban Ocon’s race engineer.

The German, a self-confessed Michael Schumacher fan who studied mechanical engineering in Munich, has become F1’s first female race engineer in a move that shows F1 is changing, albeit slowly, to becoming more inclusive.

The significance of her promotion is something that Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, is acutely aware of while insisting she’s there on merit, not simply because of her gender.

Komatsu has also signed race strategist Carine Cridelich, who will join the team on 1 March from her current post at RB; both highlighting the growing acceptance - and success - of women in critical technical positions.

Mueller’s promotion especially feels like a seminal moment for female engineers and sends a loud message of what is possible to younger generations.

Komatsu said: “Laura Mueller and Ronan O'Hare, they’ve both been performance engineers. Ronan has got more experience than Laura – because he was at Williams before, whereas for Laura, Haas is the first F1 team she’s worked for.

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

“But they’ve both got good potential and good determination. So, we decided to promote internally because that sends a good message for everyone as well.

“Rather than go for some big names with experience from the outside, promote somebody [who] may not have enough experience to start off with, let’s say, but has potential with good work ethic, good communication.”

Asked by Autosport about Mueller’s promotion and what personality traits she will bring to the team, the Haas boss said she is the perfect fit for driving on and matching Ocon’s ambition and determination.

Komatsu explained: “She's a determined character and then she's very hard-working. She has a very good work ethic.

“In terms of looking at the personality, Esteban is a pretty determined character as well. So from that side, I think they will be a driving force and their personalities match.

“When she sees a problem, she digs deep, and she doesn't stop at the first answer.

“You know, some people when they find the first answer they stop digging and they say ‘oh, great, I found the solution’ and they move on. But no, she knowns that there are new questions to answer.

“So her determination is the one thing that impresses me the most. She's still quite young yet she's still quite experienced but needs some guidance and support, but with her work ethic I think she can progress pretty quickly.”

Esteban Ocon, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Mueller joined Haas in 2022 and has previously worked in the team’s simulator before progressing to the role of performance engineer.

Komatsu says the underlying reason for any appointment in the team is how an individual “fits into the team and maximises the performance and that Laura is the correct choice”.

He added: “Laura came in to do the simulator job. And then some of the race events. Then we were rotating performance engineers for the last couple of years.

“When it comes to having a race engineer, she expressed her interest [in the job]. And in terms of her communication on the radio, she is very clear, very calm. 

“When I knew Esteban was coming - I knew as well as technical side, the personality side is very important, especially if you're a race engineer. So I could see the Laura/Esteban combination that could work really well.”

Ocon and Mueller, along with Bearman and O’Hare have started to build their relationships as the team embraces its new driver and race engineer line-up.

They had their first run during the Testing of Previous Car programme last week in Jerez, and next week will all attend the seat-fitting in Italy.