Key Red Bull F1 figure to be REPLACED ahead of Dutch Grand Prix

Sergio Perez habla con su ingeniero Hugh Bird — Photo: © IMAGO

Dutch GP

Key Red Bull figure to be REPLACED ahead of Dutch GP

Red Bull have had a number of high profile departures this season

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 20 August 2024 20:57 Updated: 21:08

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A key Red Bull figure is set to be replaced at the Dutch Grand Prix following a wave of high profile departures from the team.

It has been a tumultuous year for the Milton-Keynes based outfit who have had to contend with the exit of design legend Adrian Newey.

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The departure of the 65-year-old has dealt a significant blow for the team, with Newey helping design the cars that achieved seven drivers and six constructors' titles for Red Bull.

In addition to Newey, their sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will also be leaving the team where he will become team principal at Audi.

Adrian Newey announced he would leave Red Bull earlier this year

Jonathan Wheatley will become Audi team principal

Sergio Perez without key Red Bull ally at Dutch GP

Now Red Bull are set to lose Sergio Perez’s race engineer Hugh Bird, who will be on temporary paternity leave from the Dutch GP onwards.

Perez will be joined by a new engineer at Zandvoort, with Bird’s replacement believed to be Richard Wood, who is currently a performance engineer at the team.

These changes come after a period of difficulty for the Mexican driver, where a series of poor performances placed his future in jeopardy.

The 34-year-old scored 24 points in the last six races, and as pressure mounted he suffered a series of dramatic crashes in Q1 at Silverstone and Hungary.

Sergio Perez will have a new race engineer at Zandvoort

As his performances worsened, reports speculated that he may be replaced heading into the summer break.

However, Red Bull announced that Perez would be remaining with the team for the rest of the season, putting end to speculation that he could lose his seat.

The team are reportedly committed to helping Perez improve in the remaining the next 10 races of the season, where he is expected revert to the older-spec version of the RB20.