Red Bull F1 genius reveals process behind race-winning pit stop decision

Credit for photo: Red Bull Content Pool x GPFANS — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

Red Bull genius reveals process behind race-winning pit stop decision

Max Verstappen claimed victory over the two McLarens

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 3 December 2025 01:21

Red Bull strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz has opened up on her team's snap decision to pit under the safety car at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, a move which won Max Verstappen the race.

Verstappen took advantage of both McLaren cars staying out to take a 'free' pit stop, knowing that they would both have to pit twice more.

Schmitz and Red Bull took a gamble with the call to do something completely different to the team's two championship rivals, but it massively paid off, and Verstappen was never under any threat for the race win from that moment onwards.

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After the race, it was Schmitz who went up onto the podium as Red Bull's representative to collect the trophy alongside Verstappen, and she spoke to media about the temptations for the team to blindly follow McLaren's howler.

"On that in lap, we're hearing 'McLaren are staying out' and everyone is like 'Are you sure? Are you sure you want to pit?' And I was like 'Yeah, I really do," Schmitz said.

Verstappen firmly in championship contention

Verstappen's win at the Lusail International Circuit means that we head into the final race of the season not knowing who will win the drivers' championship for the first time since 2021.

On that occasion, Verstappen snatched the championship from Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season, and he has since gone on to cruise to three more championships.

This time around, another British driver in Norris has a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, and only has to finish on the podium to win the title, even if Verstappen wins the race.

Piastri could also become a feature, currently 16 points behind Norris and four behind Verstappen.

It's the first time since the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that three different drivers could all claim world championship success at the final race of the season.

Formula 1