Here’s the woman behind Max Verstappen. Hannah Schmitz is the mastermind behind the successes that could give the 25-year-old another title in the water. It can secure the address below Japan GP i F1.
During the Monaco Grand Prix, she was responsible for the sharp strategic decisions that gave Sergio Perez a victory and Max Verstappen on the podium. Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, she chose the soft tires for Max Verstappen and in the end that was a strong contributing factor to his win from 10th place.
It’s tough decisions made in a split second, when the pressure is at its peak, that could ultimately be decisive for a World Cup title.
– It’s very exciting to me. When you make a decision within a second, you are sitting on pins and needles. It takes about 20 seconds before you know if it is working or not. 20 seconds isn’t a thing in everyday life, but when you sit there and wait for the result, it feels like you’ve waited a lifetime, Hannah Schmitz, 37, tells redbull.com.
Max Verstappen can secure Japan GP title in F1
I’ve worked at Red Bull Racing for 13 years and have always been part of the stable’s strategic team, and while raising a family, I also rose through the ranks. Today, she is a high-value manager who makes the crucial decisions during the race.
But before that, each decision is prepared down to the smallest detail.
– We do billions of simulations before the end of every competition week. It’s about alternative calculations and strategies based on different conditions, tires and speeds that we do at home in the factory. When we then get to the competition at the end of the week, that work continues. We are analyzing the data and working further with different simulations, and we will continue that work as we race.
Hannah Schmitz has a seat in the pit office at Red Bull, but throughout the weekend, a large number of staff were supporting the team on track from a factory room.
There is a variety of TV images, from the many cameras on the plane and all the radio traffic within seconds of it happening on site. Staff have clear roles as they focus on one driver, all information is coordinated in the factory and anything of significance to the qualification or race result is passed on to Schmitz and her colleagues on site.
F1 Japanese Grand Prix set for Sunday
Then she’s responsible for pit stops and tire selection – bold decisions that sometimes have to be made within a second.
– We get the information that interests us. Those of us at the table have to see the big picture, how we as a team can win the race. She says none of us should think about the data but rather be free to make the right strategic decision to win the race.
Racing never becomes routine, anything can happen. So you have to be able to adapt to the new situation very quickly.
Or as Max Verstappen said after winning in Hungary.
– Hana. Our strategist, he was insanely calm. She is really good and she picked the right tire at the right time.
These are decisions that can determine the season of restrooms. He missed the start at the Singapore Grand Prix and had a less successful race, but he has his next chance on Sunday, at the Japan Grand Prix in Formula 1.
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This weekend is the time for the F1 Japan Grand Prix. It means early morning.
F1 Japan GP times
Friday 7 October:
Intern 1 at 05.00
Training 2 at 08.00
Saturday 8 October:
Training 3 at 05.00
Qualification at 08.00
Sunday 9 October:
Japan GP i F1 kl 07.00