Laura Muller’s F1 promotion and how Haas got the announcement just right

Promoting the role of women in motorsport without infantilising them is a balancing act, that people more often than not get wrong.

Whilst female participation in motorsport remains low visibility of existing figures is crucial to inspiring the next generation, and the message that women can fulfil a variety of roles in F1 needs extra emphasis until it becomes the norm.

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However, the way these announcements are delivered is also important, and still an area motorsport is navigating with varying degrees of success.

A recent example of this is Laura Muller’s appointment as Esteban Ocon’s race engineer at Haas, and how the team got this announcement so right whereas others in the motorsport space need to improve.

Laura Muller’s Haas promotion prompts discussion

Whilst naturally Muller’s gender will be brought up as F1’s first female race engineer, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu was keen to express that her appointment had little to do with her gender, and about the skills she has demonstrated during her tenure with the team.

“She's a pretty determined character,” Komatsu said. “And then she's very hardworking. Her work ethic is really, really good.

“She’s going to be Esteban's Race Engineer. In terms of looking at it personality-wise, Esteban is a pretty determined character as well. So that side, I think the driving force, I think that personality matches pretty well.

“We don’t care [about] nationality, gender – it really doesn’t matter because what matters is work. How you can fit into the team, how you can maximise the performance. I believe it is the right choice.”

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Haas did not ignore the cultural significance of Muller’s promotion, but neither did they linger on her gender and thus avoided making this an announcement just about diversity - rather it was a statement on a talented engineer receiving a promotion.

In contrast, former racing drivers Allard Kalff and Tom Coronel, whilst undoubtedly supportive and quite rightly questioned why it had taken so long for a female race engineer to be appointed in the first place, exposed the fact that women in motorsport are still treated differently to their male counterparts.

"There are certainly more people who can do this. And if you look at analytical skills, I can't help but think that a woman is just as good at it as a man,” Kalff said to AD.nl.

“Besides, I was always taught that a man can't do two things at once, while a woman can. So if she's good, I think it's fantastic."

The part of this discussion that sits at odds with his positive sentiments is the phrase ‘if she’s good’. Whilst his views on Muller’s appointment are supportive overall, throwing doubt in the conversation undermines it somewhat.

Komatsu on the other hand treats her like any other Haas employee that has been promoted, whereas Kalff’s discussion reminds you she is a woman and is different to her male colleagues as a result.

When the appointment of a male race engineer is announced there is no question of ‘if’, and the language here, even added casually with no malicious intent, shows that when women in motorsport hold the same role as men their ability is still questioned.

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Coronel further continued to differentiate between the capabilities of men and women, and the language further played into stereotypes of women being more emotional.

"In my period, that didn't happen, mind you. Back then, the women only made sandwiches, or they did the pit board, or the PR. But that's different now," Coronel said.

"And rightly so, because it works. Why? Well, because a man listens to a man very differently than to a woman. There is a completely different tone to that. With men, it is more about ego and frustration, women are more emotional in discussions. There is a completely different edge to that."

Whilst Kalff and Coronel did not mean to undermine Muller or suggest she was not fit for the role, it nonetheless introduces negativity into a landmark moment, and exposes that women in motorsport continue to be treated differently than men.

To make it abundantly clear, this is not a criticism of what was a well-intentioned and ultimately positive reaction to Muller’s appointment; but language is crucial when we promote the role of women in motorsport, and those in a public position should ensure that their words do not continue to contribute to century old stereotypes on women and men's roles being different.

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