Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad is having a solid debut season in F2. After an impressive start to the season, the Brit lies in third place in the championship. Red Bull applied for the 17-year-old to be granted a super licence before his eighteenth birthday, which was granted. This allowed Lindblad to take to the track in an F1 car.
Lindblad has already driven an F1 car at Imola for a shooting day. However, this is the first time the Brit has tested an F1 car, a major first step towards reaching the pinnacle of motorsport. So, what is next for Lindblad?
Arvid Lindblad completes the Imola test following FIA granting his super licence
Arvid Lindblad has impressed during his opening six races in F2. The Brit was the sprint race in Jeddah and the feature race in Barcelona to ignite a championship challenge. These performances were why Red Bull applied for the exemption for his super licence.
BREAKING: The FIA has granted Red Bull junior and F2 star Arvid Lindblad a super licence!
The 17-year-old will now be able to take part in F1 sessions.
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In his first F1 testing session, Lindblad completed the morning session of the test at Imola in the 2023 Alpha Tauri. Red Bull will want to keep the young prodigy testing F1 cars so he can gain the experience required. Despite two spins during the test, it ran the full program.
Red Bull is also keen to get Lindblad in an F1 car during race weekends. There are Racing Bulls and Red Bull, both have spaces for their mandatory FP1 rookie slots. Ayumu Iwasa has taken up a slot for Red Bull after driving in FP1 at Bahrain, while Isack Hadjar has used two spots for Racing Bulls in Australia and China.
Arvid Lindblad contender to drive in F1 in 2026
With Lindblad impressing so far this season, he is in the hat to drive for the Racing Bulls next season. Red Bull will organise more tests for the youngster and will put him in the car during FP1 sessions further down the line this season. But if he brought in, who does Lindblad replace?
Isack Hadjar has impressed this season after a shaky start to his F1 career and should be safe to drive next season. However, his teammate Liam Lawson has had a poor season. Red Bull dropped the Kiwi after two disappointing races, and his form is yet to pick up at Racing Bulls. Lawson needs to find his form quickly, otherwise he could be dropped by Red Bull.
Lawson’s replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, is also struggling at Red Bull. The Japanese driver is struggling to adapt to the RB21 and is significantly off the pace of his teammate. There is a chance Red Bull could let him go, promoting a Racing Bulls driver to the top team.
The ball is in Lindblad’s court. If he can keep up the momentum and impress during the tests, there is every chance he will be an F1 driver in 2026. Red Bull is keen to promote from within, and Lindblad could be the next big talent they uncover.