Perez to work with new race engineer at Zandvoort

Red Bull's Mexican driver Sergio Perez is set to work with a new race engineer at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix as his regular race Hugh Bird will miss the Zandvoort round.

Having started the year in dominant form, winning three of the opening four races,Max Verstappen has encountered fresh challenge from McLaren and Mercedes in recent races.

The Dutchman won all three races at Zandvoort since the sport returned to the F1 schedule, and he hopes that his RB20 will display a more consistent performance than in previous rounds.

"It was good to spend some time relaxing with family and friends over the summer break and we are feeling refreshed and ready for the second half of the season.

"It is great to start it back at my home race; it is always a fantastic atmosphere, and the fans are incredible, so it is a special one for me.

"It is a great circuit, with its short straights and narrow track and hopefully we can come back even stronger for this race. We are looking forward to the week ahead and hopefully we can be fighting for the win," concluded the reigning champion.

On the back of a series of tough races, Sergio Perez made his way back to Mexico to recharge his batteries. The Guadalajara-born racer will face a tough challenge in the coming races as he will need to convince Red Bull to keep him for 2025.

"I am looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend. The summer break was very important for everyone in the Team and the whole sport, with so many races now everyone needs the rest and reset time more than ever.

"I spent my time in Mexico with family and I feel refreshed and ready to go for the second half of the season. I know all my Team feel the same, I have been in Milton Keynes this week with them.

The Mexican has revealed that he will be assisted by a different race engineer as his regular engineer Hugh Bird will stay at home with his wife expecting their baby.

"Everyone will notice a change on the radio on our side of the garage in Zandvoort, Hugh my Race Engineer is expecting a baby very soon so will be spending some time at home and I wish him and his family the best of luck with their new arrival!

"Woody, my Performance Engineer will step up in the meantime. I know what we can extract from the car in the coming weeks and we will do our best to maximise the second half of 2024," concluded