Esteban Ocon Praises ‘Very Impressive’ Race Engineer Laura Mueller

Esteban Ocon has shared his experiences working with new race engineer Laura Mueller at Haas, highlighting her impressive work ethic and dedication as they strive to improve the car’s performance. Mueller, who was promoted from Performance Engineer to Race Engineer ahead of Ocon’s move to the team, is the first full-time female to take on this role in Formula 1.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Ocon praised Mueller’s extensive experience across various racing categories, including DTM, which they both have in common. The Frenchman emphasized Mueller’s commitment to her work, stating, “It’s been great to work with Laura. She’s really a great engineer. She’s been having a lot of experience in a lot of different categories. She’s done DTM, I’ve done DTM, so we have that point in common. But she did a lot of different categories, and her trajectory is very impressive.”

Ocon further elaborated on Mueller’s dedication, sharing an anecdote from the challenging Japanese Grand Prix weekend. “I remember in Suzuka, we had a difficult one, but we were still having meetings and debriefs because it was not the way we wanted to have the performance and she didn’t stand up to take a sandwich or drink for probably the whole day,” Ocon explained. “She was like, ‘Esteban, I will probably go and take a food now because it’s 7.30 or 8 in the evening.’ And I’m like, ‘You didn’t eat yet?’ And she’s like, ‘No’, because she didn’t want to because she was flat-out with work.”

Despite the challenges faced during his campaign so far, Ocon feels he has been adapting well to his new environment at Haas following his five-year stint with Alpine. “First impression of the team is a big family,” the 28-year-old said. “This team really has welcomed me, in such a way that I just felt at home straight away. It’s really a fresh start for me. I feel that I’m integrating super well with everyone and everyone is hungry and motivated to deliver.”

Ocon also praised the team’s efficiency and ability to deliver results quickly, drawing comparisons to his time at Force India. “As an atmosphere, the family kind of feel, it’s very much like the Force India days, but it doesn’t feel small. This team feels like a big team in a way of what they are achieving. When we need something, it comes quicker than what I’ve been experiencing in the past,” he explained.

The Frenchman acknowledged that while Team Principal Ayao Komatsu could identify areas for improvement, the team’s quality of work is impressive and they do not feel understaffed. “Ayao could tell you a lot of things about where we could improve, but it doesn’t feel like we are small because the quality of the job that’s been done is very impressive. It doesn’t feel like we lack people because everybody’s trying to accommodate me in the best way possible,” Ocon concluded.