Rising F1 star fired for using N-word during Twitch live stream

• Red Bull Racing has fired 21-year-old Juri Vips, their F1 reserve driver who competed in F2.
• Vips used the N-word during a Twitch live stream while playing "Call of Duty: Warzone" with another driver.

Oracle Red Bull Racing announced it has terminated the contract of Formula One reserve driver Juri Vips for using a racist term during a recent Twitch live stream.

The move comes a week after Vips was initially suspended with the team announcing they would conduct an investigation.

"Following its investigation into an online incident involving Juri Vips, Oracle Red Bull Racing has terminated Juri's contract as its test and reserve driver," Red Bull wrote in a statement.

Vips F2 team, Hitech Grand Prix announced that Vips will keep his seat on their team and will race this weekend in the Great Britain Grand Prix. In a statement, the team principal, Oliver Oakes said he wants to give Vips a chance to redeem himself.

"I have made the decision for Jüri to keep his F2 seat with Hitech for the remainder of the season, a decision we have seriously debated," Oakes said. "Allowing him to complete his season with Hitech is an opportunity for him to demonstrate, through his actions, the type of person he is. I have made it clear that I think the language used was totally unacceptable, but I choose to give him the chance to redeem himself."

According to Asher Fair of Beyond the Flag, videos shared on social media showed Vips saying, "Bitch [N-word]" while on a Twitch live stream. Vips was playing "Call of Duty: Warzone" with fellow Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson.

The 21-year-old Vips was a Red Bull Racing Junior team member and competed in Formula 2. He was also a reserve driver for Red Bull's F1 team and was considered a future star in the sport. He completed his first F1 test drive earlier this season before the race in Spain. He was seventh in the F2 standings with two podiums this season.

Vips issued an apology on Instagram before being fired, saying he deeply regretted the incident and would cooperate with the investigation.

The suspension is reminiscent of a similar incident involving reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson.

Larson used the N-word during an iRacing event that was streamed online in April 2020. He was initially suspended by Chip Ganassi Racing but was later fired after most of his car's partners pulled their sponsorships.

After missing most of that season, Larson returned to NASCAR in 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports and won the Cup Series championship.

Despite the success, Larson has still struggled to secure sponsors. Most often, his car is "sponsored" by the team owner's car dealership business, HendrickCars.com.