Red Bull's Hannah Schmitz has provided an insight into working with drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Part of the team's success in the first half of the 2022 F1 season has come down to their pit-stop strategies, with well-timed stops playing a crucial role in victories for Verstappen and Perez at races such as the Hungarian and Monaco Grands Prix. Principal Strategy Engineer Schmitz has received praise for her role in dictating the strategies, and has provided an insight into working with the current Red Bull drivers. "They're definitely both very interested in understanding the strategy and the plans you're putting forward," Schmitz told the Red Bull: Beyond the Ordinary podcast. "They're also really interested in all the pace analysis and everything that's going on, and they ask a lot of questions, so they're definitely engaged. "I would say though, I think I've never worked with a bad driver, or one that's not interested because, at the end of the day, the strategy can have a lot of impact on the race."
Schmitz details approach to driver conversations
The role of pit strategy has become a big talking point in recent races, with Red Bull's main championship rivals Ferrari frequently being judged to have made the wrong decisions on tactics. Schmitz went on to detail how the team discussions take place before any strategic decisions are set in stone. "The race engineers obviously work really closely with their individual drivers, they understand them and how to give them the information they need," Schmitz added. "As strategists, we also brief them, so we have briefings throughout the weekend, the main ones being the pre-qualifying and the pre-race. "We find it's good for it to be more like a discussion, so we'll say 'this is our plan', and we'll ask for people's opinions on things, and make sure people are involved and know the reasoning behind things we're going to do, because we find it really useful to be able to work as a team and get the most points as a team."
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