EXCLUSIVE: Lindblad on his step up to F1, being thrown in the ‘deep end’ and getting up to speed in 2026

Arvid Lindblad is the only new name on the entry list for the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship after earning promotion to the Racing Bulls team alongside Liam Lawson – but his name is anything but new in motor racing circles.

The Briton caught the eye of Red Bull when he was just 13, the energy drinks firm signing him up and coaching him through a rapid rise from karting to single-seaters.

The 18-year-old only started racing single-seaters in 2022 – and didn't hang about in each series he entered, spending just a year in F4, Italian F4, F3 and then F2 before stepping into F1.

"I've come through the ranks pretty quickly," he admits when we chat in the Abu Dhabi sunshine.

"I've just been in each category one year, so every year I'm used to being thrown in the deep end. For sure on that side it will help [adapt to F1] because I'm used to being in this situation.

"But on the other hand, I haven't done Formula 1 yet so I don't know what's coming. We need to see and I need to be open minded and work hard because this step will be the biggest one I've dealt with so far."

Lindblad's F1 opportunity

Lindblad's ability to adapt to new machinery quickly, before effortlessly finding the limit, has been clear at every step of his progression through the junior ranks. He became the youngest-ever F3 race winner – and did the same when he stepped up to F2.

While he didn't win those championships, and thus he knows he has more to prove, his speed, tenacity and quality of feedback was so good, Red Bull moved to ask for special dispensation for him to receive a Formula 1 Super Licence before he turned 18 so he could start getting used to the machinery as soon as possible.

"I always just thought that if I was just focused on the performance in F2, that was the thing that would give me the best opportunity [to step up to F1]," he says.

"So that was always what I was focused on. I believed that if I did everything right and if I performed well, potentially there would be an opportunity. So all these things – with the Super Licence and the FP1s – were a bit of a confidence booster that I was doing the right things, that things were going well."

Things were going very well. Red Bull put him in a two-year old Racing Bull three times to help him get up to speed – and he proved once again he was a quick learner.

They gave him his first taste of a Grand Prix weekend with F1 machinery when they ran him in FP1 at his home event at Silverstone, which he had to dovetail with his F2 duties.

He impressed both Red Bull and Racing Bulls with the way he handled those runs – but sources say it was his performance in his next FP1 opportunity in Mexico that really tipped the scales and convinced the energy drinks firm he was ready to become the 20th Red Bull junior to step into Formula 1.

"Silverstone was very special for me being my first time driving FP1 and obviously doing it at home as well," he says. "It was challenging because I was racing in F2 at the same time so I couldn't put all my focus on the F1 because I had to perform well in F2 that weekend.

"But in Mexico on that side, it was a bit easier. There were no other commitments that I had. So, I was just focused on doing the best a job I could, which definitely helped. It still wasn't easy.

"Obviously with the situation, [Max Verstappen still fighting in] the championship, it was a lot of pressure to sort of not make any mistakes, but I was very, very happy with how both FP1s went, but especially Mexico."

'There's a lot of things I need to work on to get up to speed'

Lindblad is aware of the mountain of work he needs to get on top of in the shortest winter Formula 1 has ever seen.

The Briton has been embedding himself in the Racing Bulls operation for around a year now, so already has a head start with getting to know the people and the infrastructure. But, while he will have more testing than most drivers get ahead of their debut, as there are three-pre-season tests next year rather than the usual one, he is entering the sport at a time when both the chassis and power unit regulations have just been overhauled.

"There's a lot of things I need to work on to get up to speed," he says. "Going into Formula 1, there's going to be a lot of changes – not just from F2, but even more on top of that, because of the big regulation change next year, there'll be even more things to go through.

"So, I've got a lot of work with the team at the factory, on the sim and doing everything we can to try to get me up to speed because those tests will be really important.

"Next year even more so because the power unit is going to be a much bigger thing. There's going to be much more emphasis on that whilst driving. So, I think just really trying to get comfortable knowing what I have to do, what was required from me and to be able to sort of be comfortable to do it all.

"There's going to be a lot of things I'm going to have to think about whilst driving, so to try to sort of get up to speed on that and be comfortable doing it will be good."

While it's certainly a big step up moving from F2 to F1, Lindblad's adaptability that he's demonstrated through karting into single-seaters could be one of his greatest strengths in helping him hit the ground running. Naturally, it's hard to give him performance targets as the pecking order of the teams is so unpredictable, but he knows that to impress, he just needs to show consistent progress.

"The advice [from his bosses Alan Permane and Peter Bayer has been that] things are going to be difficult," he says. "I shouldn't be naive. I'm very aware of the fact that it will be a big challenge. It will be a really big step up.

"There's a lot of work I have to do over the next coming months prior to Barcelona [host of private testing to kick off pre-season].

"But even then, during all the tests, during the first part of the season, there's going to be a lot of things for me to be learning up to speed on. Even also on the team side, there will be that as well, because it's going to be so much that is new. We're all going to have to learn and develop together.

"It's just about being open-minded. It's nothing I already don't know that I need to just work hard and keep focused on myself."

Lindblad knows he's already impressed his Red Bull and Racing Bulls bosses by virtue of getting the seat.

Speaking at the time of the announcement, his Team Principal Alan Permane told me: "His feedback is very good. He's intelligent – you can tell that when you talk to him. He'll learn quickly I'm sure. If a driver has got spare capacity, it's always good.”

Now he's just got to show that in F1 on a consistent basis. Based on what he's shown so far in his career – and his rapid trajectory – all the signs are that he's up to the task.