Ever since the 2021 world championship win for Max Verstappen, the entire Red Bull team is on Cloud 9. Credit often goes to the engineers for building the dominant cars they built in 2021, 2022, and now 2023. Drivers undoubtedly get major credit for the heroics on the track. However, there are some people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure all that effort reaps the desired rewards. Among those people are the strategists, who quite frankly only come under the spotlight when they falter. The person commanding that thankless job at Red Bull is Hannah Schmitz.

Hannah joined Red Bull way back in November 2009 as a Modelling and Simulation Engineer. Since then, she rose through the ranks to become the Senior Strategy Engineer in April 2011 and then finally took over as the Principal Strategy Engineer in May 2021. So yes, from Verstappen’s maiden championship-winning year to his second world title, and now as the team continues to climb new heights, she’s been the one calling the shots.

Red Bull fans hail their “queen” who led Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to glory

Red Bull emerged as a force to reckon with once the ground-effect regulations came into play last year. Not only did Verstappen successfully defend his world title but also helped the team win its first constructors’ championship in 9 years. In doing so, the partnership broke records left, right, and center. That run has spilled over to 2023 as the team refuses to give the rivals any chance on the tarmac.

Amidst all this, Schmitz is dominating the position which was traditionally seen as a man’s job. Reflecting on her role in the team recently during an interview with The Athletic, Hannah said, “I think the point is yes, we do want the best people for the job, and that’s not always a man. So you need to open up the opportunities so that you get to meet those people that will be the best people for the job.” 

“Don’t be deterred just because there aren’t many women. That’s changed all the time, and to be honest, it doesn’t really matter, It’s not like my job is any different to me being here than anyone else.”

Fans hailed her for her comments and what she has done for the team. Take a look at some reactions from Twitter.

Read More: Not GF Kelly Piquet, Christian Horner Names the One Person Who Is Not “Afraid” of Max Verstappen Despite Extremely Aggressive Image

Watch This Story: Why Ford’s Jaguar F1 Team Was a Total Failure Before Becoming Red Bull?

Red Bull is spearheading both title races and has built a giant gulf of points over the rivals just after 5 races in the season. Do you think any team will pose some threat to their dominance in 2023?