F1: Vips gets practice debut with Red Bull at Spanish GP

Red Bull F1 reserve driver Juri Vips will make his Formula 1 weekend debut driving for Red Bull in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix.

There are new regulations in place this year aimed at giving more seat time to young drivers on grand prix weekends.

In two Practice 1 sessions over the season, every team must have each of its cars driven by a driver who has not competed in more than two F1 races.

Red Bull has chosen this weekend’s race in Spain to to have Vips driving in place of Sergio Perez.

Vips won’t be the sole FP1-only driver this weekend as Nyck de Vries will make his F1 practice debut for Williams while Robert Kubica will pilot the Alfa Romeo.

Kubica, who was the first to take the wheel of the Alfa Romeo in pre-season testing, at the same Catalonia venue that will see this weekend’s action, most recently drove the C42 during a Pirelli test session in Imola, less than a month ago. These fresh memories of the car will enable the experienced Pole to make the most of tomorrow’s one-hour session, providing the team with the superb technical feedback that has made Kubica such a valuable asset for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.

Kubica will drive the car of Zhou Guanyu, with the Chinese race driver returning to the cockpit for FP2 and the remainder of the weekend.