A harsh punishment for a single word: Red Bull suspends its reserve driver over a racist slur

Jüri Vips is a young and very talented driver who, in addition to his involvement in Formula 2, also tests for the Red Bull Racing team. But the problems Vips is currently having stem from his off-track activities. The Estonian driver simply used the word, which led to his suspension by Red Bull.

In addition to his Formula 2 racing commitments, Vips is also serving as a reserve driver for Red Bull from the end of 2020.

This season, however, he made his Formula 1 race weekend debut on the occasion of the Spanish Grand Prix, and of course, he did so in the opening free practice session. The twenty-one-year-old Estonian driver is currently racing for the Hitech team in F2 and is seventh in the standings.

However, he recently played Call of Duty with his friends on Twitch, and during the broadcast, he uttered a word beginning with the letter “n”, a derogatory reference to dark-skinned people.

Red Bull subsequently issued an official statement suspending Vips.

“Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident,” said Red Bull, which said that as “an organisation we have a zero-tolerance policy towards racist language or behaviour, ” according to the official Red Bull statement.

According to Motorsport, the young driver has already apologised for his behaviour and said it was unacceptable.

“Such language is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the values and principles I hold. I deeply regret my behaviour and it is not an example I want to set. I will cooperate fully with the investigation,” Vips said.

Sources