Red Bull To Introduce Sergio Perez Change At The Dutch Grand Prix

Saajan Jogia | Aug 19, 2024

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) walks in the paddock before the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez's long-time race engineer Hugh Bird, will be on temporary paternity leave for the upcoming races starting from the Dutch GP, meaning the Mexican driver will work with a new race engineer beginning this weekend.

Bird will be replaced by performance engineer Richard Wood, a seasoned team member with over a decade of experience. Stepping into Wood's role is simulator performance engineer Richard Cooke, who previously worked with Max Verstappen's crew in the 2023 campaign.

At the Zandvoort circuit, Bird will be present to supervise Wood and Cooke as they take on their new roles, which they will continue to perform for the next three Grands Prix leading up to the race in Singapore. These adjustments within Perez's team mean they must quickly adapt to provide full support to the 34-year-old driver, whose primary focus is to improve his performance and consistently finish within the points.

Perez started the season the way Red Bull wanted him to - finish races within points and be a wingman for Verstappen so that the outfit could maintain its era of dominance witnessed last season when it won 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix.

However, things didn't go as planned for Perez, whose lackluster mid-season performance cost Red Bull valuable points in the Constructors' Championship, allowing the gap to McLaren to narrow, now just 42 points behind in second place.

Red Bull entered a phase of diminishing returns as the grid tightened at the front, with the resurgence of McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari making it harder for Verstappen to secure victories. Despite Verstappen's 78-point lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers' Standings, Red Bull still faces the risk of being overtaken by McLaren in the Constructors' Championship.

While rumors suggested Perez's ousting from Red Bull, his team gave him another chance in a meeting during the summer break. Now though, it is speculated that Red Bull will work on a strategy to up his performance for the remaining ten races to save its potential championship win.

According to PlanetF1.com, the team is expected to revert to the older-spec version of the RB20 for Perez, opting to remove the mid-season upgrades. As a result, his car could be reverted to the Chinese GP specification that secured him third place at the Shanghai International Circuit, marking his most recent podium finish.

The team is banking on his strong track record at the upcoming circuits, with the primary expectation being consistent points finishes. Stating the decision made by Red Bull during the summer break, the team's senior advisor Helmut Marko wrote in his Speedweek column:

“Sergio Perez will also be in the Red Bull Racing car after the summer break because we now have races on the tracks where he was good last year and we are relying on stability.

“Perez doesn’t have to become faster, but more consistent. And given the alternatives, he is still our best solution.”