As the first female race engineer in Formula 1, Laura Müller (33) is living her dream at Haas. In an interview, she discusses her collaboration with Esteban Ocon, which has been more successful than many might have initially thought.
The collaboration with Esteban is going very well. Partly because we are quite similar as individuals. He’s also very funny, more than some people might realize. Esteban can also be quite concerned, whereas I’m more of a risk-taker. When we inspect the track, I ride my bike and sometimes do crazy things. Then he worries that I might hurt myself. We always have a good laugh about it.
The 33-year-old engineer says that they clicked almost immediately, and there was no real need for adjustment. “It wasn’t a huge adjustment. Esteban is experienced enough as a driver, but of course, he was joining a new team. For him, it was mainly about getting used to a different environment, for me it was about adjusting to a new role. Of course, you need to get in sync as a driver and race engineer, for example in terms of communication. But I dare say it was much easier than I had expected. There were, and still are, occasional misunderstandings or minor mistakes. But that hasn’t affected our performance.”
She continues: “What helps is that we trust each other. He values what I say, takes it seriously, and vice versa. Whether it’s about the car’s setup or other things. His experience as a driver also helps me make better decisions. In that regard, we always have an open dialogue, it’s not a matter of ‘yes-no’.”
