Sergio Perez will have a new Race Engineer from the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, as his current Race Engineer, Hugh Bird, is set to take paternity leave. Bird will still be present at Zandvoort to oversee the transition as Richard Wood steps up to take on the Race Engineer role temporarily.
Wood, who has 11 years of experience with Red Bull, will temporarily leave his position as Performance Engineer to fill in for Bird. In turn, Simulator Performance Engineer Richard Cooke will step into Wood’s role. This arrangement is expected to last for the next four Grands Prix, including the Singapore Grand Prix in late September.
Perez finds himself in a crucial phase of his career as he fights to secure his seat at Red Bull. Although he secured strong finishes earlier in the season, including second place in Bahrain and Jeddah, his recent form has been underwhelming, leading to speculation about his future with the team. Despite this, Red Bull’s leadership, including Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, have decided to give Perez more time to prove himself.
Marko highlighted Perez’s strong track record at upcoming venues like Baku and Singapore, expressing hope that stability will help the Mexican driver regain his form. Perez’s new Race Engineer, Wood, along with Cooke, will need to quickly adapt to ensure the team’s success as Perez seeks to improve his consistency in the upcoming races.
Photo from Sergio Perez Instagram
