Meet Hannah Schmitz, the British genius driving Verstappen’s legacy

Dubai: It was only fitting that Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull’s Principal Strategy Engineer, was on the podium alongside Max Verstappen following a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix where she engineered the Dutchman’s 70th win in Formula 1 at Lusail International Circuit on Sunday.

It was her astute tactical call to box the Red Bull driver on Lap 7 under the safety car – when both the McLaren drivers were hung out to dry by their team strategy – that saw Verstappen being catapulted back into contention going into the final race weekend in Abu Dhabi.

And understandably, the four-time world champion paid tribute to the person who has made some brilliant race-winning calls during their long association at Red Bull – notably her decision to box him under the safety car in order to fit him with soft tyres behind Lewis Hamilton in the dramatic 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"I didn't expect to win, for sure," explained the 28-year-old Dutchman following his win in Qatar that moved him to within 12 points of championship leader McLaren’s Lando Norris and four points clear of Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri.

"On pure pace, we are not at the same level as them (McLaren) but we made the right call and it gave us almost a free pit stop and it made the race for me.

"It meant two long stints but we managed the tyres well and they caught up, but not too much. And that decision won me the race today!"

Perfect plan

Schmitz later explained how she overcame skepticism from her colleagues to pit Verstappen despite both McLarens staying out. “Pre-race, that was exactly when our safety car and virtual safety car windows opened, and that was the plan,” she explained to Viaplay. “So, pit both cars if the safety car came out on lap seven. There's such an advantage to pitting under a safety car when you've got to do the two stops that, to us, was a clear thing we should do. And I guess a lot of the pitlane felt the same.

“But obviously on that in-lap we're hearing ‘Oh, McLaren are staying out’. Everyone's like, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you want to pit?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I really think so!’

“I thought, definitely that's the right thing to do. And then as soon as I saw everybody else coming in as well, I thought, OK, that's fine. Although it meant you have no flexibility at all when you make the second stop, just the advantage of gaining that much time.”

Strategic decision

The Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Cambridge first came into the spotlight at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, won by Verstappen after her strategic decision to go for three pit stops. And just like in Qatar on Sunday, she was awarded the constructors' trophy, highlighting the importance of her role.

The Briton started her career at Red Bull in 2009 as a Modelling and Simulator Engineer and has worked her way up to Principal Strategy Engineer. Her current role at Red Bull involves analysing racing strategies and developing new software and tools to optimise them. In short, the 40-year-old Schmitz is the intellectual driving force behind Verstappen’s stupendous success in the cut-throat world of Formula 1 racing.

Verstappen had always praised Schmitz for her tactical acumen in her race calls and had done so effusively following his victory at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix after starting from 10th on the grid, which effectively sealed his second F1 championship. “You cannot afford to make mistakes at this level. Of course, it’s always difficult to succeed and be on the right side. But I think we have a lot of good guys and girls in the team. I think Hannah, our strategist, was incredibly calm. She’s doing a really great job,” he had said.

Now, as the duo returns to their happy hunting ground in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Schmitz will be hoping to conjure up yet another piece of magic from the pitwall should the stars and the safety car align again in Red Bull’s favour.