In a historic move for Formula 1, a female race engineer will join the sport for the first time starting next season. Laura Muller has been appointed as Esteban Ocon’s race engineer at Haas for the 2025 season, marking a groundbreaking moment in motorsport. According to Spain’s Marca, Muller will make history as the first woman to hold this position, breaking new ground in the traditionally male-dominated sport.
The announcement came after the Qatar Grand Prix, where Esteban Ocon crashed out, leading to news that he had driven his final race for Alpine. Although it had already been known that Ocon would leave the French team, it was still surprising that his departure happened immediately after the Qatar race. Ocon will make his move to Haas for the 2025 season, where he will race alongside Oliver Bearman as his teammate.
Muller, a German engineer, brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Her journey into motorsport began over ten years ago while pursuing her master’s degree at the Technical University of Munich. Over the years, she has worked in various high-level motorsport series, including the World Endurance Championship (WEC), where she spent two years working in LMP2, LMP3, DTM, and GT3 classes. Her expertise in these fields has now paved the way for her to become the first female race engineer in Formula 1.
Although Muller is the first woman to take on the specific role of race engineer in F1, she is not the first female figure to make a significant impact on the sport’s technical side. Hannah Schmitz, the racing strategist at Red Bull Racing, is another prominent woman who has made her mark at the pit wall in recent years.
This move is a significant milestone for both Haas and Formula 1, highlighting the increasing presence of women in important technical roles within the sport.
