The Japan-bound youngster hoping to be Red Bull's next F1 star

By:

Marcus Simmons

Feb 6, 2020, 2:29 PM

He's been sent by Red Bull into the potential minefield of Super Formula. But Estonian superstarlet Juri Vips has the ability, confidence and self-criticism to succeed on what could be his last step before F1

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Red Bull's latest 'man most likely to make Formula 1', Juri Vips's opening comment about his impending season in Japan is unsurprising.

"If I realistically want to get to F1, I have a big, big job in hand this year," he reflects. "The jump from Formula 3 to Super Formula is humungous. The car is so much faster."

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Marcus Simmons

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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.

Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.