Formula 2 race winner Juri Vips has been suspended from Red Bull’s junior programme and will face a “full investigation” after a video emerged of him allegedly using a racial slur on a Twitch stream.
Vips – who made his grand prix weekend debut in FP1 with Red Bull in Barcelona – was participating in a live-streamed video game session on first-person shooter Call Of Duty with other players including fellow Red Bull junior Liam Lawson.
On Tuesday evening, footage emerged that indicated Vips used a racial slur – to which Lawson replied “Juri”.
A few hours later Red Bull released a short statement saying the following:
“Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips for from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident,” it said.
“As an organisation, we condemn abuse of any kind and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviour within our organisation.”
Vips responded to the suspension on his Instagram with an apology.
“I wish to unreservedly apologise for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today,” the statement read.
“This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set.
“I will cooperate with the investigation fully.”
