Source: REUTERS/Johanna Geron
[Saba Sports News] This weekend at the 2024 Dutch F1 Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez will change his race engineer because his original race engineer Hugh Bird will be on paternity leave. For at least the next three races, Richard Wood and Richard Cooke will temporarily take over his duties. Richard Wood has been a performance engineer for Red Bull Racing for 11 years. Richard Cooke is a simulator performance engineer who worked with Max Verstappen during the 2023 season. To help Perez feel more comfortable racing, Red Bull Racing has restored his RB20 car to its specifications from this season’s Chinese F1 Grand Prix, where Perez achieved a third-place finish—his most recent podium appearance. In the past nine races, Perez has not once led his teammate Verstappen in qualifying or races; his lackluster performance has allowed McLaren to reduce their gap in the constructors’ standings from 115 points to 42 points. In the drivers’ standings, Perez has only scored 129 points, ranking eighth overall and trailing teammate Verstappen by 146 points. Red Bull Racing hopes that by restoring the car’s specifications, Perez can regain his form and confidence.