In brief
In a bid to enhance their performance, Haas restructures its race operations team with diversity at the forefront.
Haas F1 Team has made a groundbreaking decision by appointing Laura Muller as the first female race engineer in the history of Formula 1. The German engineer, who joined Haas in 2022, will collaborate with newly signed driver Esteban Ocon, sharing responsibilities with another race engineer. This restructure within the team signifies a commitment to diversity, as Carine Cridelich has also been brought on board as Haas' new head of strategy, transitioning from Red Bull’s Racing Bulls team to commence her role on March 1.As a race engineer, Muller’s involvement is pivotal, as she will communicate directly with drivers regarding car performance, set-up, and operation during races—her voice being a crucial element of the race-day experience. Her counterpart, managing Ocon's team-mate Oliver Bearman, will be Ronan O'Hare, another recruit from within Haas.Team principal Ayao Komatsu emphasized that while diversity is growing in F1, the focus remains on competence. "We just don't care - nationality, gender, doesn't matter," he stated, highlighting performance as the primary criterion for team suitability. Komatsu, who has led the team since before the 2024 season, had planned extensive changes to the race operations team since the previous year due to identified weaknesses.Key adjustments in Haas’ framework include the hiring of Francesco Nenci as chief race engineer, who has prior experience with Sauber and Toyota, alongside Mark Lowe as sporting director, formerly the operations team manager. Komatsu noted that their trackside operations were inadequate last season, particularly as their car's competitiveness increased, suggesting that ineffective execution led to missed points in the championship.With ambitions to bolster their standing, Haas targets a significant budget cap for the current year, enabling them to cultivate a more effective and competitive team dynamics while opting not to utilize Ferrari’s newly redesigned front suspension for consistency in their aerodynamic testing.As Haas concluded the 2023 season ranked seventh overall, the moves made by Komatsu aim to streamline operations and enhance overall performance to ensure the team can compete on merit against rivals with greater resources. "I want to get to a place where we can beat those sorts of people on merit without people screwing up," he added, pointing to the limited yet capable structure of the Haas team, which operates with just 300 employees.
