Liam Lawson will replace Juri Vips as Red Bull's test and reserve driver, team boss Christian Horner has confirmed. Vips saw his contract terminated in the build-up to the British Grand Prix after he used a racial slur while streaming a video game on Twitch. Red Bull acted quickly to remove the Estonian from their young driver programme and as their test and reserve driver. Vips will continue to race for Formula 2 squad Hitech Motorsport for the remainder of the 2022 season – but his career with Red Bull is now over.
Lawson leading Daruvala and Hauger in Red Bull race
Horner has confirmed that Vips, who made his FP1 debut during the Spanish Grand Prix, has now been replaced by New Zealander Lawson, who is also serving as a test and reserve driver for sister team AlphaTauri. "Liam Lawson steps into that role following the Juri Vips announcement," Horner confirmed to media, including RacingNews365.com , before acknowledging that there are a number of other Red Bull youngsters hot on his heels. "Jehan [Daruvala] is doing a great job. We're following his progress with interest, as well as Dennis Hauger as well. "Obviously, they're qualifying for Super Licenses. So, again, that's our coverage at this point in time."
Red Bull still count 11 rising young stars
Red Bull currently have 11 drivers signed up to their young driver programme, including 14-year-old karting sensation Arvid Lindblad. "We've got quite a few youngsters, and really promising youngsters, out there at the moment," continued Horner. "In Formula 3, it's great to see Johnny Edgar back after illness, quite a nasty illness earlier in the year. We're giving him another chance. "Isack Hadjar is doing a super job as well, so we've got no shortage of talent coming through, all the way from karting through to the different Formulas. "It's always been a policy of Red Bull to give youth the chance to find opportunities and to progress their careers."
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