09/12/2020
NEWS STORY
Red Bull Junior driver, Juri Vips will make his Formula One test debut alongside experienced test and reserve driver Sebastien Buemi at next week's post season test in Abu Dhabi.
Vips, who joined the Red Bull Junior Programme in 2018 after a title-winning charge in the German Formula 4 Championship, went on to finish as runner-up at the Macau Grand Prix in 2019 and in a 2020 season disrupted by the global pandemic scored his first F2 podium at Mugello during an eight-race cameo in the F1 feeder series.
With two cars running, Vips will be joined at the Yas Marina Circuit by longstanding test and reserve driver Sebastien Buemi.
Vastly experienced, Buemi finished runner-up in the World Endurance Championship and fourth in the 2019-2020 Formula E Championship.
"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity that Aston Martin Red Bull Racing have given me to drive the RB16 at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi," said Vips. "This will be the first time I get to drive a current Formula One car as I did my 300km in an RB8.
"There will be a lot to learn but I will make sure I prepare as much as I can and it has been good for me to be with the Team as reserve driver for the last few races."
"I haven't driven the car since the Pirelli test last year in Silverstone," added Buemi, "so the test in Abu Dhabi is very important to me. I spend a lot of time working in the simulator and if you get the opportunity to drive the real car it's much better for the correlation.
"So, I can give feedback on how the simulator behaves compared to the real car. It also gives opportunity for an extra driver to provide feedback to the Team. It's a great opportunity and I'm really looking forward to it."