Helmut Marko confirms plans for British Red Bull starlet destined for F1

Daily Mirror

20 hours ago

Arvid Lindblad is the next youngster to come through the Red Bull pipeline and big things are expected from the British teenager who is already eligible to race in F1
British motorsport starlet Arvid Lindblad has been confirmed as an official reserve driver for Red Bull. Still aged only 17, young driver chief Helmut Marko confirmed the youngster's new role in the week he was granted a superlicence by the FIA.
Drivers under 18 are not yet eligible for the licence, which allows a driver to take part in official Formula 1 sessions. But Red Bull applied for a special exemption which was granted by the governing body, which felt Lindblad has shown exceptional talent in junior racing series'.
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The teenage prodigy has turned heads with his incredible form, in particular an eye-catching double victory at Silverstone in Formula 3 last season. He won both the Sprint and the Feature race at his home event, ensuring Lewis Hamilton was not the only victorious British hero on track at the British Grand Prix.
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His maiden Formula 2 season has been impressive so far with 11 consistent top-10 finishes and two wins on the trot. Lindblad's stellar record has certainly caught the attention of Christian Horner and Marko who see him as a potential future superstar.
Seeing him as a budding successor to Max Verstappen, Red Bull can now place him in the cockpit to fulfil rookie FP1 appearance requirements across their two squads in 2025, giving the teenager a shot at F1 action before he even turns 18 in August.
During a conversation about the progress of fellow Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar, Marko let slip the news ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that Lindblad will be taking up reserve driver duties alongside Ayumu Iwasa for the remainder of the 2025 campaign, now that his superlicence has been secured.
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Marko said: "With Lindblad, we are developing someone who is also very strong mentally. Now we have two reserve drivers. Previously, Iwasa was the only one, and he also has races in Japan that overlap with Formula 1."
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Lindblad could potentially find himself racing in F1 this year, should Verstappen incur a race ban. He is just one penalty point away from that punishment and, should he pick one up in the Canadian or Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull will need to shuffle around their driver line-ups for the race that the Dutchman would miss.
It is understood that either Hadjar or Liam Lawson would get the nod to step up to the main Red Bull team for a one-off appearance in Verstappen's car. That would leave a space at sister team Racing Bulls for either Lindblad or Iwasa to fill, depending on who is available at the time.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about the situation, Horner said: "Arvid Lindblad is at the very beginning of his journey in Formula 1, having been granted that license. First of all, [a suspension for Verstappen is] a situation that we want to desperately try and avoid. And should it come, we've got enough drivers to draw upon from the pool of Red Bull drivers."