Red Bull Racing has confirmed Richard Wood will be Liam Lawson‘s race engineer for the 2025 F1 season.
This decision comes after a tumultuous year for the team, during which they saw the departure of Sergio Perez who had been struggling to keep pace with teammate Max Verstappen.
The appointment of Richard Wood as Liam Lawson’s race engineer comes after he previously served as Perez’s performance engineer. This marks a pivotal moment for Lawson as he steps into a high-pressure role alongside one of the sport’s most dominant drivers.
The 22-year-old New Zealander has been making waves in the racing world. His promotion to Red Bull’s main team follows impressive performances as a super-sub during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Lawson’s ascent comes at a time when Red Bull is looking to reclaim its status at the top of Formula 1 after a disappointing third-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship last year.
The team is banking on Lawson’s potential to match Verstappen’s formidable skill set, a task that has proven challenging for past drivers in the second seat.
Richard Wood’s transition from performance engineer to Liam Lawson’s race engineer is noteworthy. He has been with Red Bull since 2012, initially starting in their race strategy division before moving up through various roles, including race support engineer and performance engineer.
His familiarity with the team’s operations and his experience working closely with Perez will be invaluable as Lawson navigates his debut season.
Wood briefly filled in as Liam Lawson’s race engineer during the Dutch Grand Prix last year when Hugh Bird went on paternity leave, giving him a taste of what is expected in the critical role.
The departure of Perez was not merely a personnel change but part of a broader restructuring within Red Bull Racing. The team has faced several challenges over the past year, including the loss of key figures such as Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley to Audi’s Sauber project.
These shifts have necessitated a reevaluation of their engineering team, and the pairing of Lawson with Wood is seen as an essential step in stabilizing their performance.
Lawson enters the 2025 F1 season with an understanding of the historical challenges faced by Red Bull’s second drivers.
The likes of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have struggled under the intense scrutiny that comes with being Verstappen’s teammate. Both drivers were unable to consistently match Verstappen’s pace, leading to their departures from the team.
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Lawson acknowledges this daunting legacy but remains focused on proving himself capable of thriving in this environment.
“I don’t know what they [Gasly and Albon] felt when they were there,“ he told PlanetF1 last year. “You can always look at it as an outsider and think: ‘This is what it looks like they felt.’
“But I don’t know what it was like for them. I believe, for anybody to go up against Max, you have to be realistic and know that he’s the fastest guy on the grid right now and that you’re not going to be outqualifying the guy by half a second.
“It’s not going to be something that’s really going to be happening. For me, it’s more the opportunity that’s there to learn from the best.
“For me as a driver, to be able to go in against the guy who’s won four world championships and is well seasoned… he’s been in that car for a long time.
“That car is almost… not developed around him, but he’s been a massive part of developing that car and understands it very well. In terms of how to drive it, it’s all right there on paper.
“When you see all the data that he brings in, for me as a driver to be alongside that, to be able to learn from him and have all that access, I think that’s what’s exciting for me about the opportunity.”
