Arvid Lindblad stated he “confirmed individuals a little bit of what I’m right here to do” after ending eighth on his Method 1 debut on the Australian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old Racing Bulls driver, who turn into the youngest Briton to race in F1 on Sunday, certified in ninth and briefly rose to 3rd place on the primary lap after a dramatic begin to the season opener in Melbourne.
Commercial
Lindblad’s top-10 end means he enters the file books because the third youngest F1 factors scorer at 18 years and 7 months – behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Purple Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
“Once I was 5 years previous, I had a dream and my dream was to be in Method 1 and I’m dwelling my dream as we speak,” he advised Sky Sports activities.
Lindblad, who was sixth within the Method 2 standings final 12 months, is the one rookie on the grid this season, coming into the game through the largest regulation change within the sport’s historical past.
His confidence was on present at lights out when he handed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and reigning title holder Lando Norris to briefly attain third place from eighth.
Commercial
“I’m going to take each inch that I can get. I believe I confirmed that on lap one,” Lindblad stated.
“I’ve plenty of respect for the senior guys within the sport who’ve executed a tremendous job however I’m additionally not going to roll over and provides them the place.
“I’m right here to combat and when I’m within the automobile, I’m a ruthless competitor.”
Lindblad’s mom, Anita, is of Indian descent and his father, Stefan, is Swedish. He takes delight in his heritage, proven by the British, Swedish and Indian flags on his racing helmet.
He joined Purple Bull’s junior programme at 13 and made his single-seater debut in 2022 at aged 15.
Commercial
His performances caught the attention of Purple Bull’s former motorsport adviser Helmut Marko and he was fast-tracked by Method 4, Method 3 and Method 2 12 months on 12 months.
On Sunday, he outperformed his extra skilled team-mate Liam Lawson, who completed thirteenth at Albert Park.
He credit Ferrari’s Hamilton, who made his F1 debut 5 months earlier than Lindblad was born, as a “huge motive” for his F1 profession.
“I fell in love with the game watching Lewis on the TV,” Lindblad stated, including “it was fairly nuts” to race together with his F1 hero on the monitor.
“It was plenty of pinch-me moments as we speak,” he stated.
Commercial
