How Lindblad’s start to life in F1 has unfolded – in his own words

Arvid Lindblad is only three rounds into his F1 career, but the British youngster has already made an impression – reaching Q3, scoring points and mixing it with some of the sport’s biggest names. Midway through the April gap, he sat down with selected media, including F1.com, to review the journey so far…

In 2025, more than a quarter of the F1 grid was made up of rookie drivers, with Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson all starting seasons for the first time.

Fast forward 12 months, and there is only one newcomer on the grid in the form of Lindblad, who earned his chance at Racing Bulls after a rapid rise through the F4, F3 and F2 ranks with support from Red Bull.

The latest in a long line of junior drivers tasked with making F1 their home and fighting for trophies, Lindblad has hit the ground running – brilliantly qualifying in the top 10 and bagging points at the first time of asking in Australia, before reaching the pole position shootout again in Japan.

With April bringing an unexpected pause to proceedings, and the first proper chance to review his performances, how is the 18-year-old feeling about what he has delivered in F1 so far?

“Obviously, coming in as a rookie, I was mainly focused on myself,” says Lindblad of his approach to 2026. “I didn’t have that much experience with the previous [generation of F1] cars, but these cars are very different to what I was used to. So, for me, expectations-wise, I didn’t really come in with many – I was just trying to focus on myself and do the best I could.

“I’ve been really happy with how the first couple of races have gone. It’s definitely been better than I could have hoped for. I think especially Melbourne, and even Japan to an extent, were quite big confidence boosters.

“There were also moments during those weekends that showed there is a lot of scope for improvement, so that’s what I’m trying to maximise at the moment.

“On more of the team performance side, I think things have been good, especially from where we were in testing – the results have been better than expected.

“I think a lot of that comes down to the team doing an amazing job on the operational side. We haven’t always been super quick, but we’ve done the basics well. I think that’s helped us to score a lot of points as a team in these first couple of races.”

A ‘very special’ weekend

As referenced above, the first of those points came on Lindblad’s debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park, where he charged his way into the final phase of Qualifying, started from ninth on the grid, vaulted up the order on the first lap and came away with an eighth-place finish.

Pushed for his standout moment up to now, the answer is an easy one.

“For sure, the highlight has to be Melbourne,” beams Lindblad, who became the third-youngest points scorer, and Britain’s youngest points-scorer, in F1 history. “The whole weekend was really enjoyable, and very special for me.

“Obviously I’d been working towards getting to F1 my whole life, so to have my debut was always going to be a special moment. I had my parents there with me as well, and I think it was the first time in years, maybe seven or eight years, that I had both my parents at a race.

“Then also just the way the weekend went: Q3 at my first attempt, running P3 at some point on Lap 1, and scoring points. It was a very special weekend, and I couldn’t even have dreamed of it.”

The mental capacity in F1

It should be noted that not everything has been smooth for Lindblad, with China representing a more challenging weekend via technical issues and spins at a Shanghai track he had never been to before, but regardless of the end result at the first three rounds, he is soaking up information like a sponge.

Arguably even more so given the major regulation changes introduced in 2026, which have made for a very different experience behind the wheel compared to previous generations, and given the drivers a host of new power unit-related tools to play with.

“I think the biggest thing, and I already kind of knew it a bit, just from the FP1 running I did last year… but the step from F2 to F1, especially on a mental capacity side, is quite big, because there are so many things you can manage, and there are so many things you can control within the car,” Lindblad explains.

“You can change the balance, there are many more tools available, and this year [with the new regulations], there’s even more of that through the power unit. The way we drive, we can change the way we get the power, all this kind of stuff. So, just being able to deal with that better is something I’m working towards.

“I think it’s very normal. As a rookie, there are so many new things going on, and even lots of the very experienced drivers are saying that there’s so much going on. It’s something that we’re all learning, but I think that’s maybe a bigger area of improvement that will come.”

That leads on to another part of life as an F1 driver that Lindblad is getting used to.

“Probably just the amount of our job that is not driving,” he smiles. “Compared to other categories, compared to when I grew up looking at the sport, there are a lot more things we have to do that aren’t just [about] driving the car. I mean, that’s the way the sport’s going, and that’s where I think a lot of sports are going.

“Also, it’s just an appreciation of how big the sport is as well. I mean, yes, I’ve been in F2, F3 on the F1 weekends [in previous seasons], but to appreciate how many fans there are, and how big the sport is… it’s pretty cool to be part of it.”

One person who has only recently gone through that process as a Red Bull junior is Lindblad’s team mate, Lawson – the New Zealander enjoying his own strong start to the 2026 season with points finishes at two of the first three Grands Prix.

For Lindblad, the on- and off-track dynamic between the pair – with glimpses seen through Racing Bulls’ amusing social media activities at each race weekend – is another positive to take from the early stages of his F1 career.

“It’s been fun,” he says of working with Lawson. “We’ve known each other for a while [as Red Bull juniors], which always helps. I think we’ve got along well, it’s been a good vibe in the team, and I’ve enjoyed sharing the garage with Liam. We’ve gelled quite well together, and also helped to push the team forward.

“With such a big regulation change, the rate of development for the team is massive, especially compared to last year, where the engine’s been the same for 11, 12 years, whatever, and where it’s the fourth year of the car [generation].

“I think just having a unified opinion, being able to discuss things, and really give that clear feedback to the team, has been positive.”

Now, both Lindblad and Lawson are getting set for the resumption of the season in Miami next month – splitting their time between engineering meetings and simulator work at Racing Bulls’ factory in Milton Keynes, gym work, and media and marketing duties.

“As a rookie, the main focus has been to try and maximise the time off,” Lindblad comments. “So, it’s just been trying to learn as much as I can from the first couple races, to take away those learnings, as well as doing some training.

“I was on the sim last week and I’ll be on the sim again next week. The sims nowadays are really high level, so on the driving side, there’s a lot I can learn. It’s probably one of the biggest tools we have, and maybe the main tool for preparation and understanding things.

“Also, I had like two or three weeks off for Christmas, and the season started super early, so just to be able to have a bit of time now, and just to get an extra break, is always nice.”

A ‘big mountain to climb’

With Lindblad’s personal summary over, what about the views of his first F1 team boss, Alan Permane?

According to the veteran of the sport, who worked with several big-name drivers during his time at Benetton/Renault/Alpine, Lindblad has already ticked the most important box.

“I think the obvious one is speed, because without that everything’s irrelevant, isn’t it? You have to have the speed,” Permane states. “It’s no good being great on feedback and being brilliant with the media, blah, blah, blah, if you haven’t got the pace. I think the pace is there.

“He’s also another great example of a driver who will look at himself before anything else, ‘What can I do better?’ I said it about Isack last year: if anything he’s a bit too harsh on himself. If he makes a mistake, he gets very cross with himself and upset, and beats himself up a little bit, so I’m trying to stop him from doing that, and just focusing on the good things.

“Of course, we don’t want him spinning in races and things like that, but he’s a rookie and it’s tough, especially on Sprint weekends [at tracks] you haven’t been to, so I would say I’m impressed with the pace and I’m impressed with the attitude as well.”

Permane adds: “I think he’s been doing everything we could have expected as a rookie and more. To be in Q3 in Melbourne was stunning. To score points in Melbourne was also stunning. Suzuka, a track he’d never been to, to put it into Q3… I thought it was a stunning lap.

“He knows it’s a big mountain to climb, to learn everything there is to learn about F1, and he’s on the early part of that journey. He knows that and accepts that, and he’s just trying to learn as much as he can all the time.”