Red Bull suspends Formula 2 driver after he drops a racist slur throughout a Warzone stream
On: June 23, 2022
Formula 2 racing driver Juri Vips has been suspended by Red Bull after dropping a racist slur throughout a Call of Duty: Warzone livestream on Twitch.
The incident occurred throughout a streaming session with fellow Red Bull junior group driver Liam Lawson. The slur is faint however clear, and sparked a right away response from Lawson, in addition to racing followers watching the stream. Prior to that, Vips had provoked the same response by refusing to put on a pink Red Bull cap provided to him by Lawson, calling it “gay.”
“Juri, you can’t say that,” Lawson mentioned in reply.
Lawson and Twitch viewers weren’t the one ones to note Vips’ habits. Not lengthy after it got here to mild, Red Bull issued an announcement saying the motive force’s suspension.
“Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident,” the group tweeted. “As an organization we condemn abuse of any kind and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behavior within our organization.”
(Image credit score: Red Bull)
Predictably, Vips “unreservedly” apologized for his habits in a put up on Instagram. “This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold,” he wrote. “I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set. I will cooperate with the investigation fully.”
I’ve little doubt that Vips deeply regrets his actions. F2 is the final stepping-stone earlier than reaching the ranks of Formula 1, the world’s most prestigious racing league, and Vips is near taking that closing step: He’s a reserve driver for Red Bull’s F1 group, whose common drivers embrace 2021 World Champion Max Verstappen and sequence veteran Sergio Perez. He simply made his F1 debut in May, in actual fact, when he stuffed in for Perez throughout Spanish Grand Prix observe periods.
Red Bull provided no hints on the attainable long-term penalties for Vips, however it’s truthful to say that he has loads to lose, presumably together with his experience: In 2020, Nascar Cup driver Kyle Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing (and misplaced a number of sponsors) for utilizing the identical slur throughout an iRacing stream. (He was reinstated by Nascar and signed to a brand new group a number of months later, although, so I assume we hope he is realized his lesson.) I’ve reached out to Red Bull for remark and can update if I obtain a reply.
