Young Estonian driver Juri Vips is still in Red Bull’s plans despite his contract getting terminated by the team after a racism row on Twitch.
Red Bull terminated Juri Vips’ contract before the British Grand Prix weekend. He used a racial slur while playing Fortnite on a Twitch stream.
Formula One is currently the centre of attraction for all the wrong reasons. Three times world champion Nelson Piquet racially abused Lewis Hamilton while discussing the 2021 British Grand Prix.
Both Juri Vips and Nelson Piquet apologized for using offensive language. Moreover, Vips is still a member of Red Bull’s driver’s programme.
Also Read: F1 Twitter bashes Jos Verstappen for mistreating Red Bull ace during childhood
Juri Vips deserves a second chance – Christian Horner
Red Bull has promoted Liam Lawson for the role of their test and reserve driver for the 2022 season. However, as reported previously, the 21-year-old driver is still in Red Bull’s programme.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner discussed Vips’ situation with the media. He expressed that the young driver deserves another chance to learn from his mistakes.
He added: “Vips is a young guy, a young kid. We will be supporting him even though he has had his agreement terminated from mental health and educational perspective. Hopefully, he will learn from it.”
Red Bull has confirmed that Juri Vips remains part of the junior driver programme, and has only had his contract as test and reserve driver for Red Bull Racing terminated #F1
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) July 6, 2022
Christian Horner on Vips driving for Hitech Grand Prix
Vips’ Formula 2 team Hitech Grand Prix announced that they will be continuing their association with the 21-year-old Estonian driver.
Christian Horner also addressed this shocking decision. He added: “That is their [Hitech’s] decision. We are not funding that drive in any way.”
In conclusion, Horner stated: “That is purely the choice of that Formula 2 team. They have their own reasons for the actions they have taken.”
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) June 28, 2022
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton sets negative record at British Grand Prix