Juri Vips has secured a big opportunity as the Estonian driver has been confirmed to drive the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing number 30 for the final two rounds of the IndyCar season at Portland and Laguna Seca.
The 23-year-old saw his F1 hopes end last year after getting removed from the Red Bull junior programme following the use of a racial slur on a Twitch stream. Vips had run in FP1 for Red Bull Racing at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Vips was a multiple race winner in Formula 2 and Formula 3, with a personal best of 6th and 4th in the championships below Formula One.
He has previously tested twice for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, once in 2022 at Sebring and then earlier this year at Barber.
Bobby Rahal: “I’m very pleased for the team to enter Juri in the Portland and Laguna Seca races. Clearly, he was the lead Red Bull Junior driver a few years ago and exhibited a lot of talent, which we saw during the two tests he ran with us so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do on a race weekend.”
Juri Vips: “I’m super happy to get the opportunity with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and very thankful to Bobby, Mike and everyone at the team. I haven’t been driving all year so the anticipation for this opportunity has been immense but I’m really looking forward to starting again. We tested together at the end of 2022 in Sebring and it seemed like we just gelled. I got along with everyone and I really like the atmosphere at the team. Bobby’s also one to give second chances and I’m extremely grateful that he is giving me one and I really hope to bring a good result for him, Mike and the whole team.
“I hope I can prove myself and most importantly get them into the Winners Circle, which is always my main mission. I feel ready for these races, I think the tracks suit my experience and driving style and the car as well. I’ve already integrated myself with the team this year, doing some work for them on the simulator so I already know the people and feel very comfortable with everyone which is a big benefit for me as well.”
With very little prior experience in IndyCar, Vips has a big learning curve ahead of him heading into his debut in the series.
“There is not much you can do other than simulation and look at data so that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been making sure that I will be as ready as I can to race. Obviously, I’ve only done two test days in the last 10 months so I haven’t done a lot of driving so that is definitely going to limit me but I’m doing absolutely everything I can to get as good of a result as possible.”
Photo credit: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
