Vips no longer receiving Red Bull support
Formula 1 team Red Bull appears to have ended its association with Estonian reserve and test driver Jüri Vips, who was at the center of a racism scandal in June. Red Bull's junior driver program manager Helmut Marko, announced that Vips no longer receives any support from Red Bull.
Red Bull suspended Vips in June following an incident in which the Estonian driver used racist and homophobic language, while playing a live-streamed video game with fellow youth program driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand.
Following an investigation, Vips was dropped as Red Bull's official reserve and test driver.
However, Vips' Formula 2 team Hitech decided to retain the Estonian until the end of the current season, with team boss Oliver Oakes saying Vips would have the chance "to demonstrate, through his actions, the type of person he is."
Reports earlier this month suggested that Red Bull had not fully ended its cooperation with Vips after team boss Christian Horner told the Press Association that Red Bull, "will keep supporting him from a mental health and educational perspective."
However, Red Bull's adviser and junior driver program manager Helmut Marko seemed to confirm that Red Bull have, in fact, now stopped working with Vips in any capacity.
"I want to be clear," Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF Tirol. "Juri Vips no longer receives any support from Red Bull. You need to be responsible for your actions and as a result, our cooperation has ended."
"Of course, words are not a reason to destroy the career of a talented athlete," Marko added. "Especially as he apologised. But these are global trends."
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Michael Cole