Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen has defended Juri Vips and stated that the young driver should be given a second chance to redeem himself. The young F2 driver made headlines recently for using a racial slur during a live stream for which he met with punishment. Despite the major trouble, the Estonian driver (Vips) retained his seat at Formula 2 team Hitech Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen jumps in support of Juri Vips
According to a report by Planetf1.com that quoted GPFans.com, F1 Champion Max Verstappen, in his statement, said that the 21-year-old driver is better than most and that he feels people deserve a second chance. Verstappen said, “He is not part of Oracle Red Bull Racing as a reserve and test driver. I feel people deserve a second chance. Probably not a third but some things can be easily said, sometimes not even really thought about how badly you can hurt someone.”
He further added, “I know Juri a bit more than the average person and he’s actually a super-nice guy, and I think he really understood what he did wrong because he’s in a very difficult moment in his career with everyone judging him. Fair enough, what he said was not correct. I definitely think he deserves a second chance and I read the statement from F2 that they wouldn’t have done the same, but he deserves a second chance to show he learned from what he did wrong and go out there and show he can be a better person, or at least be more educated about what you are saying.”
Juri Vips racism slur ends Red Bull career
Juri Vips was appointed as the Red Bull Racing F1 team’s reserve and test driver for the ongoing 2022 season earlier this year. However, the youngster was let go by Red Bull after he used a racist slur during live streaming on the social media platform. Red Bull, team advisor Helmut Marko said that the team has ended all its association with Juri Vips.
While speaking Austrian broadcaster ORF, Tirol Marko said, “I want to be clear. 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.” Juri Vips’ Red Bull career started in 2018 after he won races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone Circuit and ended the fourth season in the championship Vips joined Hitech Grand Prix in F3 for the 2019 season in 2021 and finished the season with two wins, six podiums and the fastest lap.
