F1 News
Were Checo Perez' fans right? Horner explains Bird's Red Bull role change
Sergio Perez' form dropped suddenly and worryingly since early 2023, with the team choosing to part ways with the Mexican after he was unable to pick up the pace in 2024. Many times, Perez' fans seemed to point the finger, not at their driver's skill, but at the second voice in his head, race engineer, Hugh Bird. With Richard Wook taking over from Bird, does this mean Perez' fans were right after all? Red Bull Racing chief, explains the reasoning behind the switch.
Liam Lawson will not be the only change in Red Bull Racing's second side of the garage, with Richard Wood taking over the race engineer role from Hugh Bird. During the press session prior to the F1 75 Live event, Horner elaborated on the Austrian team's decision to give Bird a different role within the Red Bull structure.
Was Bird replaced by Wood due to a lack of performance?
Bird took a paternity leave in 2024 skipping three race weekends altogether, something Horner attributes the decision to. "It was a natural change. Hugh has recently added to his family. His skillset can really be well utilised within the factory. So it was a win-win situation," said the Briton to select media present, including GPblog.
"He gets a few more nice [moments] at home, but at the same time, he plays a key role in our vehicle dynamics department, bringing all that trackside knowledge and experience into that department. He's an incredibly bright engineer and he'll be an asset to that.
"At the same time, it's part of the team's natural evolution where it gives Woody the chance to step up into that role of engineering Liam. So it was just a natural juncture for that to happen," concluded Horner.
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