Red Bull Racing suspended Formula 2 driver Jüri Vips on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Est is said to have made a racist statement while playing a computer game.
Footage circulating on social media shows VIPs playing the popular game Call of Duty: Warzone dropped the racist word “nigger”. Loud laughter was heard on the stream.
“Red Bull Racing has relieved junior driver Jüri Vips from all team activities with immediate effect,” the team of Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez wrote in a statement.
“As an organization, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to racist language in any form. We will conduct an extensive investigation into exactly what happened.”
Vips, the current number seven in the Formula 2 championship, is seen as one of the greatest talents of the Red Bull training program. Earlier this year, at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, he already took part in free practice alongside Verstappen.