P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull has assigned Sergio Perez’s former performance engineer Richard Wood as Liam Lawson’s race engineer for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
New Zealander Liam Lawson earned the second seat at the Milton Keynes outfit, next to reigning world champion Max Verstappen for the 2025 season. Despite this, Lawson will not have the continuity of race engineer Hugh Bird, who supported Perez for the past four years. Bird will transition to a factory-based role within the team, allowing Tom Wood to step up, who stepped in during the Dutch Grand Prix last year when Bird was on leave. Amidst technical reshuffles due to the departures of key personnel, including Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, Lawson set a realistic performance bar against the dominant Verstappen. Recognizing the challenge of competing against Verstappen, Lawson highlighted the opportunity to learn from the current grid’s fastest driver, emphasizing the value of being alongside a seasoned champion like Verstappen within the team dynamics.
