P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has labelled the decision not to retain Sergio Perez’s race engineer in the role with Liam Lawson in F1 in 2025 as a “natural change”.
Liam Lawson has been promoted to a Red Bull drive alongside Max Verstappen after Sergio Perez’s poor performance resulted in him being dropped at the end of the 2024 season. Richard Wood will now take over as Lawson’s race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird. Bird, who had been criticized by some Perez supporters for his communication issues, will now focus on a factory-based role within Red Bull. Despite Lawson’s limited race experience, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes in his mental resilience to handle the pressure of being Verstappen’s teammate. Horner emphasized the team’s support for Lawson and their confidence in his abilities to succeed in Formula 1.
