Red Bull junior driver Juri Vips will not compete in the upcoming Super Formula season opener on account of strict entry rules for foreign travellers into Japan.
Vips finished fourth in last year’s Formula 3 championship – taking three victories – and finished runner-up at the Macau Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Estonian was due to compete in the Japan-based Super Formula championship for the Honda-powered Team Mugen.
The start of the 2020 Super Formula campaign has been delayed due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, with the new season opener scheduled for August 30 at Motegi.
Vips had hoped to receive clearance to enter Japan, and undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine period, but was not successful, and will miss the first event.
Team Mugen has instead appointed Ukyo Sasahara to compete at Motegi.
It is believed that Vips, who raced in the Formula Regional European Championship opener, could still make the step up to Formula 2 before the end of the truncated season.
Alfa Romeo test driver Tatiana Calderon has successfully entered Japan and is now set to make her debut for the ThreeBond Drago Corse team.
Calderon has spent several years affiliated with the Sauber-run Formula 1 operation and last season raced in Formula 2.
It is understood that Red Bull and AlphaTauri Formula 1 reserve driver Sergio Sette Camara, who was due to compete for B-Max Racing with Motorpark, has not entered Japan.
