Pink Bull has named Sergio Perez’s former efficiency engineer Richard Wooden as the brand new race engineer for incoming Components 1 driver Liam Lawson in 2025.
Wooden garnered expertise on the Pink Bull pit wall a number of instances throughout 2024 when Perez’s common race engineer Hugh Chicken was on paternity go away.
An extended-term Pink Bull worker, Wooden joined the staff as a strategist earlier than shifting into race help and simulator engineering forward of switching to the trackside staff, and now turns into Lawson’s race engineer because the Kiwi steps as much as the lead Pink Bull-owned staff.
This follows a restructuring of Pink Bull’s trackside operations following the departure of Jonathan Wheatley. Gianpiero Lambiase – Max Verstappen’s race engineer – has taken up a bigger function, as reported by Motorsport.com months in the past.
Wheatley will begin his new problem at Sauber on 1 April – sooner than initially deliberate – and is not working for Pink Bull. He’s serving the necessary interval of gardening go away these months.
Pink Bull just isn’t changing Wheatley one-on-one, however has divided his duties amongst a number of staff members; in a single such instance, Lambiase is taking over a bigger function as head of racing.
Jonathan Wheatley, Workforce Supervisor, Pink Bull Racing
Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Photographs
Lambiase stays Verstappen’s race engineer, however has been given extra obligations that contain the complete staff. Lambiase heads the each day ‘race operation’ in addition to some technique operations.
When it comes to technique, Will Courtenay stays on the Pink Bull pit wall this yr regardless of being signed by McLaren final yr. The chief strategist will go away for McLaren mid-2026, however Pink Bull is not going to launch him earlier.
One other a part of Wheatley’s obligations will fall beneath Steve Knowles. He’s the top of sporting within the new construction, which amongst different issues entails communication with race management.
Regardless of Lambiase’s promotion, the engineering staff round Verstappen stays intact. This additionally applies to senior management techniques engineer Michael Manning, who has indicated internally that he aspires to a unique place.
Manning and his techniques staff play an necessary function in Verstappen’s begins, which have change into more and more advanced in modern-day F1.
Nevertheless, Pink Bull confirmed that Manning will end the 2025 season in his present function and that he is not going to transfer to a different staff, regardless of stories that the Irishman was to depart.
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Ronald Vording
Components 1
Liam Lawson
Pink Bull Racing
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