Jüri Vips to drive for Red Bull in FP1 at Spanish Grand Prix

Red Bull has confirmed that Hitech Grand Prix driver Jüri Vips will drive for the team in First Practice ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Estonian will be at the wheel of the RB18 for one of two mandated sessions requiring Formula 1 teams to run a rookie driver in Practice this season.

Vips will take over driving duties from Sergio Perez in what will be his first official F1 race weekend.

“I found out I'd be doing it a couple of weeks ago, it’s the next step for my career," Vips said of the announcement.

“I’ve gone through what I will be doing with the engineers so unfortunately no proper push laps for me. It would have been nice but it’s very important stuff for me to carry out.

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“Maybe we’ll get to do some fast stuff later if I do a good season in F2."

Since becoming part of the Red Bull junior line-up in 2018, Vips has carried out multiple tests for the team as well as serving as reserve driver at AlphaTauri.

The Hitech driver last drove for Red Bull during the post-season Abu Dhabi test in December.

“I spoke to Checo in Miami and had a brief chat with him about everything so it should be good.”

Vips' time in the car will come after the F2 Practice session and ahead of Qualifying later on Friday.