Vips to assume French GP support role for Red Bull

F2 charger Juri Vips will handle simulator duties for Red Bull Racing during this weekend's French Grand Prix as reserve driver Alex Albon kicks off his DTM season in Italy.

Like other teams, Red Bull relies on its reserve driver to conduct simulator work on race weekend's to help the team tackle set-up issues or test specific settings.

It's not unusual for a driver to spend countless hours in a team's simulator on Friday evenings to grind through settings and changes in a bid to improve a car's performance for the following day.

Albon assumes this often-laborious task for which he was praised recently by Red Bull's Sergio Perez, but the British-Thai racer will be racing this weekend at Monza in the opening round of the German DTM series.

"Vips will take over his duties in the simulator during the French Grand Prix weekend," Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko told Speedweek.

• Read also: Perez highlights Albon contribution to Red Bull success

However, in the event that one of Red Bull or AlphaTauri's drivers would not be able to race, Vips would be restricted from making his race debut as the 20-year-old Estonian does not hold the mandatory F1 suoerlicence.

Albon therefore remains Red Bull's go-to reserve driver for both its teams and is ready to jump back into the fray, even at short notice.

"Albon remains the reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri," Marko explained. "If someone drops out, he is immediately taken from Italy to France via an airlift for more flexibility."

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