Max Verstappen once described her as ‘insanely calm’. Meet the woman who tells him how to win

3 hours ago 2

Max Verstappen was in trouble.

Darkening skies and drops of rain were descending on the Hungarian Grand Prix circuit in 2022 and the Red Bull driver was starting the race in 10th place – a not ideal position for the championship leader.

Nearly all the drivers, including the Dutchman, were meant to start on hard tyres, but a last-minute call from Red Bull saw Verstappen switch to soft tyres to account for the low grip on the damp track. Verstappen was able to carve his way through the field before undercutting the leader to win the race, while the Ferrari’s faltered after a poor strategy call.

In a post-race debrief, Verstappen credited Red Bull’s “insanely calm” principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz for the win.

Chatting over Zoom, Schmitz smiles when I ask her to recall the decision-making process behind the tyre-switch.

“We were quite out of position,” she explained. “When you’re out of position, you often want to do something a bit alternative, particularly if you think you’ve got the pace to do that so that you can pass people later in the race.”

Race winner Max Verstappen with Hannah Schmitz in Qatar in 2025.

It’s these bold strategy moves that have made Schmitz one of the most highly regarded strategists in the paddock and one of few women to stand on the constructors’ podium with drivers. Her impressive resume, recently earned her the honour of having a track corner at the Australian Grand Prix named after her.

Schmitz and Laura Mueller – who made history as the first full-time female race engineer in F1 – will have turn six of the Albert Park grand prix circuit dedicated to them in time for International Women’s Day on March 8.

Schmitz said the honour was a lovely recognition of women in F1 and admitted “it’s not something I ever expected”.

For those unfamiliar with the intricacies behind F1, Schmitz’s role boils down to analysing the weather, tyres, the track and pit stops times to prepare the best possible strategy for the weekend. When unexpected circumstances hit like a red flag or collision, she has to make the most optimal decision – typically in under 30 seconds.

Red Bull principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz will have Turn 6 of the Aus GP named in her honour.

Schmitz said she has always been a quick thinker, joking she always “liked organising everybody and making sure everyone knew what they were doing”.

A childhood love of murder mystery game Cluedo and chess instilled a passion for problem-solving, which propelled her towards a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Cambridge.

Schmitz came from a sport-loving family, but wouldn’t describe herself as a lifelong F1 fan. She’d always had an interest in cars and started watching motor sport when she was a teenager, compelled by the strategic thinking behind race wins.

Red Bull and Schmitz are busy preparing for the Australian Grand Prix this week – the first time fans will get to see the new cars and new regulations in racing action.

As F1 teams brace to see how their new cars fare on Albert Park’s street circuit, Red Bull is also dealing with significant personnel change.

The team lost revered designer Adrian Newey in 2024 – who later defected to Aston Martin – and abruptly fired longtime team principal Christian Horner in 2025 and replaced him with Laurent Mekies. The announcement came more than a year after Horner was accused of misconduct toward a team employee, allegations which were dismissed after an investigation.

Six months after Horner’s departure, the team announced their motor sport advisor Helmut Marko was stepping down after more than 20 years with the team.

I ask Schmitz how the team as a whole feels in 2026 and whether they have adapted to the changes in management? Before Schmitz can answer, Red Bull’s communication manager politely interrupts and tell us to skip past that question.

Schmitz has worked with Verstappen for a long time

Schmitz is allowed to talk about Verstappen though, describing the Dutchman as one of the drivers she has worked with the longest.

“There’s a lot of trust there,” she said when asked abut their working relationship. “I think that’s really important from a strategy point of view, that the drivers can trust that you’re going to be making the best decisions, and that you can also quite openly discuss [things] before a race.”

In preparation for International Women’s Day, Schmitz – a mother to two daughters – wants to reflect on her grandmother Jackie’s legacy, who sadly died a few weeks ago.

Schmitz described her grandmother as an incredibly strong and intelligent woman who fought against expectations she should leave school at 14 to go work at a cotton mill.

“I think it made me realise that a lot of the women in the family have the attitude … where if someone tells you that you can’t do something or that’s not really an appropriate job, it’s just something we tend to ignore and do anyway,” Schmitz said.

When asked about the future of women in motorsport, Schmitz said the possibility of seeing a female F1 driver within the decade would be wonderful, but concedes it’s not an even playing field.

“There’ll be so much extra pressure, on [a woman] which is the thing that’s really difficult,” she said. “There’s not many women – engineers or driver or anything – so they end up with kind of this extra pressure to deal with as well,” she said.

“I think initiatives like the F1 Academy are at least giving people a lot more opportunity to race in motorsport and get that experience,” she continued.

“So I really hope so, I think it is a sport where gender shouldn’t really impact your ability.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.