Red Bull suspends junior and F1 test driver Vips after racial slur
Vips was heard saying “bitch n*****” while live streaming a game of Call of Duty on Twitch. Footage of the incident has been shared on social media.
Fellow Red Bull junior and F2 rival Liam Lawson was also playing with Vips at the time.
“Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident,” a Red Bull team statement said.
“As an organisation we condemn abuse of any kind and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviour within our organisation.”
Vips has issued an apology, in which he said: “I wish to unreservedly apologise for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today.
“This 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 co-operate with the investigation fully.”
The Estonian is currently competing in his third full season in F2 with Hitech Grand Prix is seventh in the drivers’ championship after the opening six rounds.
Vips, who is Red Bull’s nominated reserve and test driver, recently made his F1 weekend debut driving for Red Bull during opening practice at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix.
He also regularly completed days of official F1 testing with Red Bull in end-of-season tests in Abu Dhabi.
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