Red Bull Junior Team has named Juri Vips in their pre-event press release for this weekend’s Macau GP alongside Dan Ticktum.
Speculations were high after the 2018 FIA European Formula 3 Championship that Vips will become part of the Red Bull Junior Team for the 2019 season. While it hasn’t been announced directly but Vips has been named in the Macau GP release from Red Bull.
The Estonian showed solid signs during his rookie campaign in European F3 where he finished fourth overall in the main standings with 284 points which included four wins and four podiums, while he was second in the rookie championship.
Prior to his F3 campaign, Vips had won the ADAC F4 championship with Prema in 2017. The 18-year-old will make his Macau GP debut with Motopark in the Red Bull colours alongside defending champion Ticktum – driving the #3 and #1 car respectively.
“In a way I am going into it a bit blind as I have never been there before,” said Vips. “But I am making sure I am well prepared, watching the videos, running in the sim, learning everything I can before I get there.
“There is nothing better than having a fast teammate. With Dan’s win last year and the team’s experience at Macau I should have everything I need. I certainly have a good feeling about it.
“I do like street circuits, Pau was great. Not so much the results as qualifying was a bit of a mess but I certainly came away with a very good feeling. I think the track suits me and I think Macau will too. I believe anything is possible.”
The 2017 Macau GP winner, Ticktum, added: “Of course you could say that I’ve got the pressure on me because I am the returning winner but I don’t look at it like that. I’m approaching it with a calm mind.
“I know what to expect, it’s my third year and I know that you just have to approach it with the plan to chip away at it piece by piece. If you rush in you are likely to do something silly. Last year it was all a bit of a disaster until the final race, things ran against us all the way.
“But I know that you never give up, keep putting everything into it every time you get in the car. In the end it came back to us and that is the way it goes in Macau, it can turn around so quickly, never give up on it.”
For now, Vips will race with the Red Bull colours in the Macau GP with Ticktum but it remains to be seen if it is a start of a new association as Red Bull is yet to officially reveal their junior line-up for the 2019 season.
Elsewhere, the Macau GP entry list is also complete with Japanese B-MAX Racing Team announcing Yuhi Sekiguchi, Alex Palou and Dragon as its three drivers among the 28 to take part in this weekend’s race.
