By graduating to in 2026, Britain’s has delivered on his personal childhood imaginative and prescient that he would in some way make it to System 1. Talking completely to Motorsport.com, he tells all about his ambition, his Swedish-Indian household heritage and a promise he made to .
Tuesday’s Racing Bulls announcement seat in 2026, changing the -bound . The Surrey-born teen would be the fifth British racer on the 2026 grid and the twentieth Pink Bull junior driver to make it to F1, having been fast-tracked via the single-seater ladder since he joined in 2021 as a karting phenom.
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Life has moved rapidly for Lindblad, however making all of it the way in which to System 1 was by no means only a distant dream. Regardless of the chances, it was a concrete ambition that he was in some way satisfied he would obtain from a really early age. “It has been my dream to be in F1 since I began this journey once I was 5, so having that come true may be very particular,” Lindblad tells Motorsport.com in his first interview as an F1 driver.
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“I do not come from a motorsport background. It was actually a ardour that I drove myself. Once I was three, my dad put me on a motocross bike for the primary time as a result of he’d finished a tiny bit when he was youthful. That did not final very lengthy, because it was a bit an excessive amount of for my mum. However then I went karting for the primary time once I was 5, and I simply cherished it immediately.
“After the primary time, I already knew it was one thing I wished to do. My earliest racing recollections are from once I was 4, once I sat down and watched F1 with my dad. And I keep in mind asking, ‘How do I get there sooner or later? Is it attainable? What do it’s important to do?’
“I do not actually know why — perhaps I used to be a bit naive — however I simply had this inside perception that I might be there. Not in an boastful approach; it was extra like I knew I wished to be in F1 and I used to be going to do something to make that occur. From the second I began, I by no means envisioned a future the place I wasn’t. I at all times believed that I might be in F1.”
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Arvid Lindblad, Pink Bull Racing
Arvid Lindblad, Pink Bull Racing
Lindblad additionally holds Swedish nationality via his father and has Indian roots via his maternal facet of the household, two sides of his heritage he connects strongly with. “My paternal grandparents nonetheless dwell in Sweden, so I go to them as usually as I can,” he says. “My mum’s dad and mom lived within the UK, they usually held on to their conventional Indian roots and tradition. I’ve at all times loved consuming my grandma’s wonderful Indian meals. I went to India for the primary time final yr, and I used to be actually engrossed within the Indian tradition.
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“Once I have a look at my dad and mom, the most important factor I’ve discovered from them is that I am very lucky to be born right into a household the place I’ve the chance to be a racing driver. As a result of sadly, with the way in which the game is, it is not a possibility that everybody has. My dad comes from a small village in Smaland and really humble beginnings. He had a job when he was 11, cleansing bogs and dealing a paper route. He actually labored exhausting his entire life to create the alternatives that I’ve, and I’ve huge respect for him.
“The identical goes for my mum. My grandparents had been concerned within the Partition; they lived in part of India that turned Pakistan, they usually misplaced every little thing. They needed to work extraordinarily exhausting. They ended up transferring to the UK to develop into docs. There is a portrait of my grandmother in a museum as a result of she labored as a GP till she was 82. She solely retired a few years in the past.
“I am very proud that I come from a household that needed to work for the alternatives they created. And I am very lucky that I am not fairly in that place, however I nonetheless attempt to be humble and right down to earth. The racing is one thing between me and my dad. Training is essential to my mum, so the thought of me lacking a bit of faculty was very troublesome for her at first. She was saying to my dad: ‘If he does not have what it takes, can we please cease? As a result of it is costly and we have to do different issues.’ However I used to be at all times working exhausting and driving fairly properly, so it was exhausting to surrender!”
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Arvid Lindblad was a two-time finalist of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the 12 months award
Arvid Lindblad was a two-time finalist of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the 12 months award
It seems Lindblad did present glimpses of “the appropriate stuff” in karting, successful the LGM Collection and the British Championship within the IAME Cadet collection in 2017. It was the signal to take his profession to the European scene, resulting in titles and a group of top-three finishes in OK-J and OK at each European and world championship stage, together with successful the inaugural 2020 Champions of the Future occasion in OK-J, and the WSK Euro Collection and Closing Cup the next yr – succeeding within the former.
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It was in 2021 that the then 14-year-old had a quick encounter with Norris, when the driver launched his personal karting chassis on the similar monitor Lindblad was driving. “I instructed my buddy: ‘I believe I am going as much as Lando.’ And he was like: ‘Oh no, you do not have the center.’ I did not actually know what I used to be going to say, and the very first thing that got here out was: ‘I need you to recollect me. I’ll see you in 5 years.’ I might gotten a little bit of inspiration from the –Ron Dennis story, saying, ‘I’ll drive one in every of your automobiles sooner or later.’
“I believe he was bowled over a bit and mentioned one thing like: ‘Oh, that is good to consider it.’ I am positive there are many folks that say these sorts of issues, so it did not actually imply something on the time. However like I mentioned, I had this perception I might make it to F1. I had it once I mentioned that to Lando, and I’ve that very same form of perception as we speak. It is a joke to look again on, as a result of it’s going to develop into true. It is going to be 5 years.”
Lindblad is mentored by System E champion Oliver Rowland.
Lindblad is mentored by System E champion Oliver Rowland.
By that point, Lindblad’s profession had already shifted into the next gear after his father Stefan acquired a name from an unknown quantity when the Lindblads had been out testing in Portugal. “We had been at breakfast within the lodge when the cellphone began ringing,” he recounts. “I do not keep in mind the quantity, however on the backside it mentioned ‘Graz, Austria’. My dad had a little bit of a skip in his step, and he mentioned Helmut Marko wished to fulfill us. I used to be excited to fulfill the person who had put world champions like and in F1.
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“It is humorous as a result of I hear and browse issues, however that is not what I skilled. I’ve at all times had a extremely good relationship with Dr Marko. We have at all times been very sincere with one another. He does not actually like excuses. I do not actually wish to make excuses. We have at all times been very open, which has helped me develop. I am grateful for the chance, however I additionally should thank your entire Pink Bull Junior Programme. Rocky [Guillaume Roquelin] has been very concerned, and there is a entire crew behind it.”
Very similar to rookie Antonelli, who’s 12 months his senior, issues began transferring at breakneck velocity as soon as Lindblad switched to racing automobiles in the direction of the tip of 2022. He took third in his first full season of Italian F4 in 2023 and received the celebrated Macau Grand Prix, which set him on a path to F3 and F2. However crucially, it additionally satisfied Marko and Pink Bull that Lindblad may very well be the subsequent inheritor in line after Hadjar, getting ready him for F1 with personal testing and simulator work.
So, how prepared does Lindblad really feel for his greatest problem but? “Being sincere, I believe I am not 100% prepared, however that is regular,” he acknowledges. “I’ve progressed via the ranks in a short time, so I am used to being within the place the place I am form of thrown within the deep finish and should discover a method to determine it out. I’ve full confidence in myself that I will discover a approach.”
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Lindblad made his F1 testing debut with the AlphaTauri AT04 in Imola.
Lindblad made his F1 testing debut with the AlphaTauri AT04 in Imola. “Being sincere, I believe I am not 100% prepared, however that is regular.”
The make predictions not possible. However Lindblad is eager to develop into the very best model of himself. When requested what is going to make 2026 a hit, he replies: “What is going on to make 2026 a superb yr is that by working exhausting and studying so much, I’ll come out a significantly better driver than I went in.
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“It’s a clear slate for everybody with the brand new automobiles, so you may say it is a bonus to come back in now. However there are two sides to the coin. F1 shall be very totally different to what we’ve now, so I nonetheless suppose the skilled guys can have a bonus. There’s so much to be taught, and I want to simply deal with that and getting the very best out of myself.”
In 2026 Lindblad shall be thrown in on the deep finish as soon as extra, and he’ll nonetheless have every little thing to show. However he has additionally already confirmed one factor to himself: he has made it to System 1, identical to he at all times envisioned.
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