Arvid Lindblad: Britain’s youngest F1 driver on heritage and reaching F1 aged 18
arvid lindblad, 18, is poised to become Britain’s youngest ever Formula 1 driver and is completing preparations with his Racing Bulls team after speaking from a beach in Bahrain. He described the moment he learned of his promotion, his family history and the people who helped him reach F1 ahead of his grand prix debut in Australia at the beginning of March.
Beach moment in Bahrain
He was sitting on a beach in Bahrain, a Gulf mist obscuring the still-rising sun, pondering a question while a five-minute drive away the circuit and his Racing Bulls team were completing preparations for his grand prix debut in Australia at the beginning of March. He has been polite but wary and wanted to make sure he did not say anything he might regret.
Qatar promotion and Red Bull
Lindblad learned about Red Bull's decision to promote him to their second team at last year's Qatar Grand Prix, where he was competing in the penultimate round of the Formula 2 championship. The news was broken by Helmut Marko, the veteran former F1 driver who had taken Lindblad into the company's driver programme at the age of 13 as a promising go-karter. Lindblad said: "This is something I've been doing with my dad. I got the news in Qatar when I was with him, so obviously that was a very special moment to share together. " When asked if he still had to pinch himself, he paused and added: "A little bit. "
Racing Bulls seat and career path
He is due to take the second Racing Bulls seat alongside Liam Lawson. Lindblad spent just one season in both Formula 3 and Formula 2 before being handed the chance to take the spot at the Faenza-based squad vacated by Isack Hadjar, who moves to Red Bull. The British-Swede also holds the notable honour of being the final driver enlisted by Helmut Marko to be promoted from the Red Bull junior ranks to F1 and is due to become the fourth-youngest rookie of all time.
Mentor Oliver Rowland’s role
Oliver Rowland has been a significant influence on Lindblad. Lindblad said the Red Bull programme "has been a massive part of why I’m here today" and recalled being signed at 13 by Helmut. He credited both Helmut and Rocky—Guillaume Rocquellin, the former Red Bull engineer and Marko's replacement—for helping him make the steps he did. On Rowland he said: "I’ve known him since I was seven and it’s a big part, both thanks to him and Red Bull, that I’m here today. "
Rowland, the reigning Formula E World Champion, spotted Lindblad as a talent as a child and has been by his side since. Lindblad described their relationship as hard to describe "in anything other than family. " He said: "Ollie’s helped me develop as a person and as a driver. I mean, I’ve known him since I was seven, and he’s helped massively for me to be where I am today. " They started a karting team together, Rowland came to many F3 and F2 races and has been taking time out of a busy schedule—competing in Formula E as the current World Champion—to come to a lot of events to help him. Lindblad was also spotted in Rowland’s Nissan garage at the recent Jeddah E-Prix and spent time with Rowland's daughter, Harper, in the paddock.
Family history and identity
Lindblad is one of five British F1 drivers on the grid this year—six if you count Alex Albon, who was born and raised in the UK but races under the Thai flag—and he is the first Briton with Indian heritage to race at the highest level of the sport. His father, Stefan, is Swedish and his mother, Anita, is of Indian descent.
He described the partition of India in 1947 as playing a significant role in his family's history. "My Nani, my grandmother, is Sikh, grandfather's Hindu, " Lindblad said. "And when they were five, they were involved in the partition. They were in the part of Punjab that is now Pakistan, and they had to leave. They came from quite well-off backgrounds, but then they lost everything. So then they had to work very hard their whole life to recreate a life for themselves. Then they moved to the UK in their late 20s, early 30s, as doctors. "
He called his family background "quite a rare combination, but I'm very proud of my heritage. All three parts have really shaped me to who I am today. " He added: "I've been very exposed to all three. Even though my grandparents moved to the UK when they had my mum, they're still very traditional Indians. I've been exposed to a lot of their cultures and rituals, the food, the prayer, all that sort of stuff, from an early age, as well as the Swedish. It's really shaped who I am today. " He also noted that language skills have not passed down the generations as effectively as culture.
Arvid Lindblad was pictured with his dad, Stefan, and his mum, Anita, at the Autosport Awards in 2023.
He described the single biggest recent moment simply: "Since becoming a Formula 1 driver… the best thing was just becoming a Formula 1 driver. "
With a grid slot secured, a mentor in Oliver Rowland and a family story that stretches from Punjab to Sweden and the UK, arvid lindblad will take his place on the F1 grid when he debuts in Australia at the beginning of March.
