Laura Mueller + Esteban Ocon on their race engineer-driver dynamic at Haas

F1 Beyond The Grid

karenellenbevan

Leisure, Sports News, News, Sports, Technology, Automotive

4.8 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

2025 has been a year of firsts for Laura Mueller and Esteban Ocon.

For Laura, it’s her first season as a race engineer. For Esteban, it’s his first season with Haas. And it’s their first time working with each other.

So how are they finding it? What do they need from one another to get the best out of each other? And how do they communicate in and out of the car?

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Laura and Esteban take us inside their first year working together and how the relationship between a race engineer and an F1 driver works.

They provide fascinating insight into how they talk to each other on team radio – explaining when the right time to speak during a lap is, how often they should speak and why that can change in different scenarios.

Laura and Esteban also reflect on the highs and lows of this year – including how they bounced back from a challenging season-opener in Melbourne to score points in China the week after.

And you’ll hear all about Laura’s path to becoming F1’s first female race engineer and the childhood hero who inspired this journey.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the most wonderful time of the year and the perfect season to treat the Formula One fan in your life.
0:06.3	The official F1 store has everything you need to make this festive season unforgettable.
0:11.1	From teamwear and caps to models and collectibles, you'll find exclusive F1 products and limited edition gear you won't get anywhere else.
0:20.6	And the best part, with fast worldwide delivery,
0:23.6	you can get your gifts on the grid just in time for Christmas,
0:26.8	no pit stops required.
0:28.6	Head over to f1store.formula1.com
0:31.5	and make this festive season full of speed, style and F1 spirit.
0:39.0	F1 is an extreme sport in which cars race at 200 miles an hour, inches from walls and from each other.
0:47.3	Drivers are pushed to their limits, both physically and mentally, but they're not out there alone.
0:55.8	Safety cars, safety car.
0:58.1	Lots of people are boxing for slicks.
1:00.6	We are expecting more rain in 10 minutes.
1:02.4	I don't think slicks now.
1:03.0	Copy.
1:07.0	The voice in their ear is their race engineer,
1:09.6	the main link between driver and team,
1:13.6	both on track and off it. What the engineer says and when they say it is crucial. Once a lap, you say this is how many laps to go. I think if I'd
1:20.1	start talking to you more than once a lap, you'd be like, if it's critical decision to take on
1:27.2	strategy, there are times where we must have talked like 25, 30 seconds in a lap.
1:31.4	Why, you lose time doing that.
1:35.7	A driver's relationship with their race engineer is probably their most important in the sport.
	...

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