Red Bull will continue to support Juri Vips, despite the conventional break-up

Juri Vips saw his role as a reserve driver for Red Bull cut short following a scandal on the Twitch streaming platform. The young Estonian was caught on camera using language deemed unacceptable by Red Bull. His contract with the Red Bull Junior Academy was terminated, but Vips will continue to compete in F2 with the support of his team, Hitech GP. Despite Juri Vips’ apologies, he will no longer compete under the Red Bull colors, but Christian Horner is still on the side of the young Estonian.

“We have terminated our agreement with Vips, giving him plenty of time to reflect. Anyone deserves a second chance if they show they have learned from their mistakes. He is still a young boy, and we will support him – even if his contract is terminated – from a psychological and educational perspective. Hopefully, he will learn the lesson,” explained the director of Red Bull at a press conference.

He also added, « It is extremely disappointing that this kind of comment can still exist nowadays. We are an inclusive team. We have a very young audience, perhaps the youngest in Formula 1, so it is extremely important.”

To conclude, Horner came back to the decision of the Hitech team to keep the Estonian: « The decision of Hitech Grand Prix is surprising and not the one we would have made. But it’s their team’s decision and we will not finance Vips’ seat under any circumstances. It’s the choice of this Formula 2 team and they have their own reasons for the choice they made. »