Red Bull has suspended Formula 2 driver Juri Vips from its junior racing programme over his use of racial slur during a Twitch live stream.
The Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team announced over social media that the Estonian driver “has been suspended from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident.”
Vips was heard using the slur while playing a video game streamed on fellow Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson’s Twitch channel.
After the incident was picked up by Red Bull, Vips took to Instagram saying, “I wish to unreservedly apologise for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream today,”
“This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold.”
Alongside his Formula 2 commitments, Vips has been a reserve driver for the Red Bull Formula 1 team since the end of 2020 and made his Formula 1 grand prix weekend debut during FP1 in Barcelona this year.
The ultimate suspension from Red Bull’s junior team will have stark consequences for the future of his Formula 1 career.
He is next due to race in the Formula 2 round at Silverstone on July 1 to 3 but it is unclear what his current team – Hitech Grand Prix – will do given the situation.