Red Bull junior: "Was afraid I'd be kicked out after last season"

Red Bull Racing junior Juri Vips says he is lucky to have been retained as junior to the Milton Keynes team. In his first season in Formula 3 the Estonian took three victories and finished fourth in the championship behind the three Prema drivers.

The 19-year-old Vips will compete in the Super Formula in 2020. A place in the first two would be enough for a super license, but he says he is worried about a below average result. This could be the end of his Red Bull period.

"The Red Bull programme is tough and I think if I don’t do really, really well, I’m pretty aware that I can be kicked out", Vips says to Motorsport.com. "So I really have to aim high. We’ll see obviously what happens but I’m sure the expectations from them are high, which is normal because they want the best standard in Formula 1."

Vips says he was surprised that he still lives up to those expectations. "I was actually afraid after last year I might get kicked out because I didn’t win the championship." he says.

"I was lucky to stay I guess, I don’t know", Vips continues. "You never know when you’re in the programme. They’ve dropped a lot of good drivers in the past so I just have to do my best and not think about it in the end. That’s the only thing I can do."