Albert Park’s Turn 6 has been officially renamed to honour the contributions of female technical leaders. The initiative recognises the work of Laura K. Müller, Race Engineer for TGR Haas F1 Team, and Hannah Schmitz, Head of Race Strategy at Oracle Red Bull Racing.
When Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali attended the ‘In Her Corner’ event in Melbourne this week, his message was one of commitment to the women reshaping the sport.
Speaking to an audience of company leaders, engineers and racing enthusiasts just days before the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, Domenicali described the integration of women into F1 not as a fleeting trend, but as an unstoppable evolution. “The train has left the station, and there’s no going back,” Domenicali said.
In his view, the momentum behind female leadership in the paddock has reached a critical mass, creating a permanent and encouraging new standard for the business of racing.
This sense of progress is now etched into the Albert Park Grand Prix circuit. Turn 6 has been officially renamed to honour the contributions of female technical leaders. The initiative recognises the work of Laura K. Müller, Race Engineer for TGR Haas F1 Team, and Hannah Schmitz, Head of Race Strategy at Oracle Red Bull Racing. It serves as a definitive statement that women are no longer just part of the conversation – they are part of the track itself.
The renaming of Turn 6 is the cornerstone of a broader structural change led by Travis Auld at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, in partnership with Engineers Australia and Monash University. ‘In Her Corner,’ as the turn will now be known, highlights the high-stakes engineering roles that define modern racing and will be a permanent marker on the F1 calendar.
Behind the ‘In Her Corner’ turn, is now a new Innovation Hub brought to life by Engineers Australia Chief Engineer, Rear Admiral Katherine Richards. Richards designed the hub to dismantle the idea that STEM subjects are abstract or inaccessible for women and girls.
Inside the 20-metre interactive marquee, visitors can engage directly with engineering student teams from Monash University. The displays include the M25, a student-built race car with a custom powertrain, as well as lunar rovers and rockets. “The Innovation Hub is about helping students understand that sticking with STEM opens doors far beyond the racetrack,” says Richards.
The hub also features hands-on challenges designed to simulate the high-pressure environment of the pit wall, such as designing F1 rear wings for aerodynamic stability. By putting the work of students and professional engineers on the global stage, the hub ensures that the “invisible” side of Formula One becomes a primary point of attraction for fans. It is a space where the data used by Schmitz and Müller becomes a tangible experience for the public.
The 42 per cent shift and F1 Academy
Domenicali’s “train” analogy is backed by a shift in global fan data that has rewritten the sport’s commercial playbook. During the interview with Ruth Buscombe, Domenicali stated that F1’s global fan base is now 42 per cent female. This isn’t just a social metric; it’s a statistic that changes how sponsorship deals are brokered and how the sport’s long-term sustainability is calculated.
This data-driven approach moves the conversation away from traditional corporate social responsibility and toward a core business strategy. As Formula One expands into emerging markets and reaches younger audiences, the visibility of women in prominent technical roles becomes a necessary evolution. Turn 6 stands as the first physical manifestation of this global demographic shift, and a reminder of the 42% who now fuel the sport’s growth.
Melbourne’s ‘In Her Corner’ comes three years after a global F1 initiative, the F1 Academy led by Susie Wolff. Now in its fourth season, the academy has its own Netflix series, and serves as a high-visibility recruitment tool for women in engineering and logistics, and a platform to close the technical and financial gap between women in karting and the senior racing tiers.
In 2026, F1 Academy is expanding to seven rounds. The integration of the F1 Academy into the Grand Prix weekends ensures that these athletes and engineers are visible to the millions of fans watching worldwide. This creates a feedback loop of inspiration and recruitment that feeds the senior teams directly, ensuring the “train” continues to gain speed.
The technical reality of race engineering
Müller, the Race Engineer for the TGR Haas F1 Team, says her role requires a blend of advanced data analysis and rapid decision-making, a process she describes as “firefighting” on the pit wall. In the intense environment of a Grand Prix weekend, the pressure to deliver results for a team like Haas, and her driver Esteban Ocon, is constant and immediate.
When discussing the skills required for success at the elite level, Müller says that decisive action is far more critical than perfection. She argues that in a fast-moving environment, the worst outcome is a lack of direction. She believes that stalling on a choice can be more damaging than an imperfect result that can be refined later.
Müller’s insights provide a rare look into the mental fortitude required to manage a Formula One garage. She highlights that her job is often about managing people and high-pressure moments rather than solving pure engineering problems.
