Alpha Tauri defend Red Bull Strategist Hannah Schmitz
6th September 2022Alpha Tauri have publicly defended Red Bull Racing’s Head of Strategy, Hannah Schmitz, after she received online hate following Yuki Tsunoda’s DNF from the Dutch Grand Prix, last weekend.
Both Alpha Tauri and Red Bull’s Strategist, Schmitz, have been a victim of online hate after fans accused both parties of race-fixing.
This comes after Alpha Tauri, sister team of Red Bull Racing, ordered Tsunoda to retire from the race late on shortly after he ventured the pit lane for a new set of tyres, and to refasten his seat belts.
The resulting Virtual Safety Car allowed Red Bull’s defending world champion, Max Verstappen, to have a free stop and return to the race ahead of both Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Following the impact Tsunoda’s retirement had on the race, speculation of Alpha Tauri and Red Bull conspiring together quickly rose online, with hate directed towards Schmitz.
In a statement, released on Twitter, the team stated:
“It is incredibly disheartening to read some of the language and comments directed at our team and towards Red Bull Racing’s Head of Strategy, Hannah Schmitz.
“Such hateful behaviour cannot be tolerated and to entertain accusations of foul play is unacceptable, untrue and completely disrespectful towards both Hannah and us.
“We have always competed independently, fairly and with the highest levels of respect and sportsmanship.
“Yuki had a failure that the team didn’t immediately detect which caused him to stop on track. To suggest anything different is insulting and categorically incorrect.”
In the latter stages of the Dutch GP, Tsunoda reported tyre issues with his AT03 and pulled off to the side of the track. He soon returned to the circuit and crawled back to the pit lane for a check up.
After a swap of tyres, and re-fastened seat belts, the Japanese driver returned to the circuit but soon retired from the race, on lap 47, on the exit of turn three.
The FIA looked into the incident, after the race, and only issued Tsunoda with a reprimand for driving with loosened seat belts when he pulled off to the side of the Dutch circuit, in the first instance.
That’s it for the article: Alpha Tauri defend Red Bull Strategist Hannah Schmitz.
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
