Arvid Lindblad: Red Bull’s Rising Star

Arvid Lindblad was born on August 8th, 2007, in Surrey, England, to Stefan Lindblad and Anita Ahuja. Racing under the British flag, Arvid has achieved some notable accomplishments in his career despite not yet being 18. Arvid is currently a Red Bull junior driver, racing in Formula 2 with Campos Racing and was recently granted his super license, meaning he is eligible to race current F1 machinery.

(Image Credit to the Formula 2 Website)

Lindblad's journey in motorsport began with motocross when he received his first bike at the age of three. When he turned five, he transitioned from two wheels to four and started his karting career. By 2015, he had entered the world of competitive karting. At just nine years old, British Formula E driver Oliver Rowland became his mentor and coach. Lindblad showcased his talent during his karting years, securing his first Championship win at the age of eleven in the 2018 LMG series. Throughout Lindblad’s karting career, he achieved six wins and finished in the top three in a total of 22 competitions. One of Lindblad’s most notable results was winning the 2021 WSK Euro series, which had also previously been won by some of Formula 1’s top drivers, including Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris. In 2020, Lindblad’s victory in the WSK Super Master series attracted the attention of Dr. Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s development program. The following year, Marko met with Lindblad and his father. Not long after, Lindblad was announced as a Red Bull junior driver and has been part of that program since then. 

In 2022, Lindblad finally got his debut in a single-seater with Van Amersfoort Racing in round 5 of the Italian F4 Championship. The next season, Lindblad joined Prema Racing for a full season in the Italian F4 Championship. Lindblad’s season got off to a great start with a victory in the Imola opener and collecting two more podiums. Then, he achieved a double win in Misano. In Monza, Lindblad won all three races, which extended his Championship lead to over 80 points. From there, things did not go Lindblad’s way; he struggled in qualifying and the race, failing to achieve any podiums in the final three races. This led to Lindblad falling to third in the Championship, which is where he finished. Before his second season in Italian F4, Lindblad raced in the F4 UAE Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. In race three of the first round at the Dubai Autodrome, Lindblad took his maiden F4 victory. Lindblad was able to finish 5th in the Championship that season, learning some valuable knowledge about single-seaters, which would help him later in his career. Along with these F4 championships, Lindblad also competed in the Euro 4 Championship, achieving only one race win in Monza, yet still finished the Championship in 4th, showcasing his consistency. Then, Lindblad participated in one race of the F4 South East Asia championship with Prema at the Macau Grand Prix Circuit. Lindblad was able to secure Pole position, win the qualification race, and ultimately win the main race, thereby concluding his Formula 4 career with an impressive ending. 

In 2024, before the FIA F3 season began, Lindblad raced the first three rounds of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. At the opening round at Yas Marina, Lindblad was able to score a victory in the second race. But he accumulated only three points total in the next two rounds. Once again, Lindblad drove for Prema Racing in the F3 Championship. Lindblad was off to a great start, winning the sprint race in Bahrain and getting 2nd during the sprint race in Australia. Lindblad was constantly scoring points until he had his first DNF in the Monaco sprint race due to a multi-car collision on lap 1. Later in Barcelona, Lindblad secured his first front-row start. Driving a fantastic race and went on to win his first F3 feature race, making him the youngest to do so at 16 years, 6 months, and 21 days old. In Austria, Lindblad unfortunately had to retire due to a puncture during the sprint race. Silverstone, Lindblad’s home race, was a phenomenal weekend due to great racecraft and smart strategies. Lindblad secured victories in both the sprint and feature races, making him the first driver in F3 history to achieve the double. Lindblad then failed to score points in those final rounds, dropping him to 4th in the Championship with three rounds left. Lindblad had finished the season as the highest-scoring rookie and also helped his team, Prema, secure the Constructors’ title. 

Similarly to in 2024, Lindblad gained even more single-seater experience by competing in another championship prior to the 2025 FIA F2 season; the Formula Regional Oceania Championship with M2 Competition. At the opener, Lindblad scored a podium in all three races, including a pole position and a win in race three. Lindblad continued his podium streak at the next round, achieving two poles and two victories in races 1 and 3, and finishing 3rd in race 2. Again at the next round, Lindblad won races 1 and 3, but due to a wet race 2, Lindblad finished 14th, ending his podium streak at 7. At the next round, Lindblad secured a victory in race 3, with a 2nd in race 1 and a 6th in race 2. In the final round, Lindblad clinched the Championship win with a 2nd place, a DNF, and a 3rd place finish. 

Currently, Lindblad drives for Campos Racing in the F2 Championship. In round 3, at Jeddah, not only did Lindblad achieve his maiden F2 win in the sprint, but he also became the youngest race winner in F2 history at 17 years, 8 months, and 11 days old. Then, in round six, Lindblad achieved his maiden F2 pole position and converted that pole to a win, which was his second F2 win, but his first Feature Race win. This brought Lindblad to P3 in the Championship. Lindblad just raced round seven in Austria, a rough one for the driver. Qualifying P12 but receiving a grid penalty due to impending caused him to start in P15 in both the sprint and feature race. Then, during the Sprint Race, Lindblad was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 3, which resulted in a DNF. In the Feature Race, Lindblad simply didn’t have any pace and received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, finishing 14th. This dropped him down to 6th in the Championship, 32 points behind the leader. 

Now onto future endeavors for Lindblad. As you may have heard, the FIA World Motor Sport Council accepted Red Bull’s request to grant Lindblad his super license before his 18th birthday, making an exception to the super license age requirement rule. Likely due to Lindblad’s outstanding performances throughout his career, the World Council decided to grant Lindblad his super license early, allowing him to compete in an F1 race weekend. Red Bull has not put this opportunity to waste with Lindblad set to debut in F1 with a free practice session in Silverstone, replacing Yuki Tsunoda in FP1. How do you think he will do? Could he be the next Verstappen?

Article written by Haley Hall