Vips was born in Tallinn, and began competing professionally on the karting scene in 2011, claiming major titles in his native Estonia and becoming the Rotax Max Challenge world champion in 2014.
Lower formula
In 2016, Vips made his single-seater debut in the Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 championships with Prema Powerteam, where he claimed a victory and took the title of Italian F4 rookie champion in 2016. In 2017, Vips continued with Prema in both championships, claiming the ADAC Formula 4 title ahead of teammate Marcus Armstrong.
Formula 3
In September 2017, Vips tested the machinery with Prema. In October, he made his debut in the 2017 European Championship season finale at Hockenheim. For the 2018 season, Vips drove for German team Motopark, claiming four wins and taking fourth in the driver's championship. In October 2018, Vips was linked to a place in the Red Bull Junior Team. He was confirmed with the program the following month prior to the Macau Grand Prix. In December 2018, it was confirmed Vips would stay on for the new FIA Formula 3 Championship, joining Hitech GP, for 2019. Vips had a relatively successful campaign with two feature race wins and one sprint race win. Despite some inconsistent results, Vips managed to finish fourth in the overall driver's championship. It was announced that Vips would continue with Hitech GP for the 2019 Macau Grand Prix. Vips took pole position for the qualification race after the second qualifying session on Friday, setting the new lap record in the process. He then managed to convert the pole position into victory in the qualifying race, allowing him to start on pole for Sunday's race. Despite a near-flawless weekend up to that point, Vips was unable to convert the pole to victory in the all-important Sunday race. Vips lead in the early part of the race, however, due to crashes from Leonardo Pulcini and Ferdinand Habsburg, Vips' lead was eradicated as the safety car was called out. After the race resumed, Richard Verschoor managed to overtake Vips at Lisboa. Vips ended the race in second only 0.792 seconds off the lead. In June 2020, it was announced Vips will take part in Formula Regional European Championship 2020 season racing for Finnish team KIC Motorsport.
Super Formula
In October 2019, it was announced that Vips would replace Patricio O'Ward at Team Mugen for the final round of the 2019 Super Formula Championship. He qualified 19th out of the 20 cars but performed admirably during the race. At the pitstops, however, the 19-year old stalled the car losing around half a minute while he stood still in the pits. He finished the race in 18th. Vips re-joined Team Mugen in a winter test at Suzuka in December 2019, sparking rumours about a full-time drive for 2020. Vips finished third overall during the test. In January 2020, it was confirmed that Vips would drive for Team Mugen in the 2020 Super Formula Championship alongside Tomoki Nojiri. Start of the Super Formula 2020 season was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Racing record
Career summary
† As Vips had not competed in the required number of rounds, he was ineligible for a championship position. ‡ As Vips was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
