F1 2025: Red Bull star speaks out over vital change

Red Bull strategic engineer Hannah Schmitz — Photo: © IMAGO

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Red Bull star speaks out over vital F1 change

Hannah Schmitz was promoted in 2024 to Red Bull F1's Head of Strategy

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 14 March 2025 18:12 Updated: 20:55

A key star of the Red Bull Formula 1 garage has spoken out over an essential change within the paddock ahead of the 2025 season.

The first weekend of the 24-race campaign gets underway this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix, and has so far set the precedent for an exciting season ahead as many drivers and teams get to grips with a new environment, new machinery and new roles.

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Red Bull implemented a major team change following the conclusion of the 2024 season by replacing Sergio Perez with junior team driver Liam Lawson.

Despite the promotion landing Lawson with his first ever full-time F1 contract, the 23-year-old has already competed in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

He initially stepped in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo following the Dutch Grand Prix two seasons ago, and then returned to take his place at Racing Bulls mid-season last year, after the Red Bull junior team remained unsatisfied with Ricciardo's performance.

But Lawson is not the only one who has been handed a promotion with Christian Horner's outfit, after it was confirmed last season that strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz would be stepping up to the role of strategy chief.

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Hannah Schmitz details need for female F1 role models

Schmitz was praised by Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko as the right replacement following the announcement that the team's current strategy chief, Will Courtenay, had accepted an offer to move to McLaren.

Earlier this year, however, it was revealed that Courtenay was unable to negotiate an early release, meaning Schmitz will not get to step up into the role of strategy chief until 2026.

Regardless, the Red Bull star is still one of the most visible and influential female figures in the F1 paddock having masterminded some of the team's best victories.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Schmitz detailed why she believes such visibility in a male dominated sport is so important.

"When I first started, I almost didn't want people to think of me as a woman or it wasn't like I was trying to be a man, but my gender doesn't impact my ability to do my job.

"And so, my gender isn't really something that needs to be a factor when I'm at work. But then I just felt like diversity would improve. It's just taking a bit longer in this industry.

"But I realised that actually it doesn't just seem to happen. And so, we do need to be role models and kind of shout about how great the job is. I absolutely love my job, how great it is and how you can do this.

"You don't have to be a middle-class white man to be able to do the job. There still aren't really that many role models."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Australian Grand Prix Liam Lawson