Liam Lawson will step up to Red Bull’s senior F1 team in 2025, as a replacement for Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen.

However, he won’t be working with the same race engineer as his predecessor. Instead of Hugh Bird—who supported Perez for four years—Lawson will have Chris Wood as his race engineer.

Wood is no stranger to the role. He previously stepped in for Bird at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix when Bird was on paternity leave. He has been with Red Bull for a long time, starting as a strategist before moving into simulator work and race support.

His promotion comes at a time of wider changes within the team, following the departures of key figures like Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley.

Wheatley, Red Bull’s former sporting director, is set to join Sauber’s Audi project in April after serving his gardening leave. Instead of hiring a direct replacement, Red Bull has split his duties among several team members.

One of the biggest changes sees Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, take on more responsibility, however, at the same time, he will remain working with reigning world champion.