How Lindblad’s start to life in F1 has unfolded – in his own words Sole 2026 rookie Arvid Lindblad reflects on his first few races in the top echelon. Arvid Lindblad is only three rounds into his F1 career, but the British youngster has already made an impression – reaching Q3, scoring points and mixing it with some of the sport’s biggest names. Midway through the April gap, he sat down with selected media, including F1.com, to review the journey so far… In 2025, more than a quarter of the F1 grid was made up of rookie drivers, with Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson all starting seasons for the first time. Fast forward 12 months, and there is only one newcomer on the grid in the form of Lindblad, who earned his chance at Racing Bulls after a rapid rise through the F4, F3 and F2 ranks with support from Red Bull. The latest in a long line of junior drivers tasked with making F1 their home and fighting for trophies, Lindblad has hit the ground running – brilliantly qualifying in the top 10 and bagging points at the first time of asking in Australia, before reaching the pole position shootout again in Japan. With April bringing an unexpected pause to proceedings, and the first proper chance to review his performances, how is the 18-year-old feeling about what he has delivered in F1 so far? “Obviously, coming in as a rookie, I was mainly focused on myself,” says Lindblad of his approach to 2026. “I didn’t have that much experience with the previous [generation of F1] cars, but these cars are very different to what I was used to. So, for me, expectations-wise, I didn’t really come in with many – I