RED BULL SUSPEND JUNIOR AND RESERVE DRIVER

By Dan McCarthy

Date posted: June 22, 2022

Red Bull Racing has suspended one of reserve drivers, Red Bull Racing Academy driver Juri Vips with immediate effect following a racial slur.

Vips was playing a video game, live streaming on Twitch when he used the ‘N’ word in the heat of battle.

Within moments of the incident Red Bull Racing made a statement online confirming that the Estonian had been suspended and would not return until a full investigation had taken place.

“Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident,” it read.

“As an organisation we condemn abuse of any kind and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviour within our organisation.”

Vips, one of the Red Bull Racing’s reserve drivers made his F1 practice debut in Spain and is one of the drivers in contention to step up to AlphaTauri next year or in 2024, however this comes as a major blow to these hopes.

The 21-year-old was incredibly apologetic for what had happened and said he would assist in the investigation process.

“I wish to unreservedly apologise for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today,” he wrote on social media.

“The language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold.

“I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set. I will cooperate with the investigation fully.”

What this means for Vips’ FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign with Hitech Grand Prix remains to be seen.

He currently sits seventh in the standings, he could be a lot higher after crashing out of the Azerbaijan Feature race when leading with just a couple of laps remaining.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the now reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson said the same word in a live stream.

He was not only suspended but fired by Chip Ganassi Racing and forced to sit out the remainder of the season on the sidelines.

He returned to NASCAR in 2021 with Hendrick Motorsport and won the title.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action.

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RED BULL SUSPEND JUNIOR AND RESERVE DRIVER

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