A “genius”: The woman behind Verstappen’s triumphs

Verstappen can enjoy the short non-racing break with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet. Already on his next business trip he is about to be crowned Formula 1 world champion for the second time; under certain circumstances it will happen in Singapore on October 2nd, two days after his 25th birthday. There are no longer any doubts about the Dutchman's renewed triumph. He drives too well for the competition, the Red Bull car is too good for the competition - and then there is them.

Her name: Hannah Schmitz. Job title: senior strategy engineer. Rating: particularly valuable. Verstappen once said about Hannah Schmitz when the Brit remained “incredibly calm” in highly stressful moments: “She is very good.” The Journal of Sport already praised her as a “genius”.

“F1 strategist, parent of 2, love what I do,” Hannah Schmitz introduces herself on Instagram, among other things. She has just over 33 followers. After the summer break, as a social media newbie, she actually wanted to post a little more. There have only been four entries in total since the first one in November 000, when she was allowed on the podium with winner Verstappen in São Paulo. The linchpin at Red Bull There was a reason: Schmitz, who always places her palms flat inwards to calm herself, had paved the way to Verstappen's victory with a courageous, aggressive strategy. And that's what she's doing again this year on the way to her second world title. Schmitz's role at the command post was “the linchpin,” team boss Christian Horner once emphasized.

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen can rely on Hannah Schmitz. © ANSA / Ali Haider

Her journey into Formula 1 began in 2009. Schmitz started as an intern at Red Bull Racing. She then worked in the racing team's strategy team when Sebastian Vettel was still successful there. Schmitz has been the chief strategist for around a year and a half.

“Strategy, the courage to take risks, flashes of inspiration, the perfect feel for data and the calm necessary to make crystal-clear decisions in the hustle and bustle of a chaotic race,” is what is needed in Formula 1, the Austrian wrote this year Kleine Zeitung from the home of Red Bull and emphasized: “Hardly any other person currently combines these characteristics like Hannah Schmitz.” She is “crystal clear” in her decisions, the word “maybe” doesn’t exist with her, said Red Bull’s motorsport director Helmut Marko. Prejudices as a woman Schmitz, who is supported by a large team - during the races, for example, students listen to all radio traffic for further analysis - has asserted herself in a horsepower world that is still dominated by men. “As a strategist, you have to tell countless people what to do - and they have to listen to you, so it's all about building trust, and I think that's much more difficult as a woman,” she explains on the homepage of the racing team. She has now earned this respect.

Respect, which is sometimes lost. This brings success quickly. Just like Verstappen's recent home success in the Netherlands. The fact that a racing car from Red Bull sister team Alpha Tauri broke down and caused a safety car phase fueled the conspiracy fantasies of some Formula 1 fans. Schmitz was sometimes badly insulted on social networks. Such hateful behavior cannot be tolerated, Alpha Tauri responded and rejected allegations of collaboration.

After the hostility, Schmitz again found the ideal strategy from billions of data points in the race in Italy. Verstappen, who is currently leading the classification with 116 points, also won in Monza. With the “calculated decisions” made by Schmitz and her team, Red Bull has all the information at hand to win races, according to a post on the racing team’s homepage. The old and possibly soon new world champion can enjoy a few days without a race track even more relaxed.

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A “genius”: The woman behind Verstappen’s triumphs

Not girlfriend Kelly Piquet: Here we introduce the woman behind Max Verstappen's Formula 1 triumphs in more detail.

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