(Motorsport-Total.com) – There are conversations that stay in your memory. They remind you that even in today’s Formula 1, you can still be yourself – that you can speak openly, without filters, rehearsed answers, or media-trained phrases.
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The fact that this interview was conducted with the currently youngest driver in the Formula 1 field makes it even more remarkable. Arvid Lindblad celebrates his 19th birthday tomorrow, Saturday, and speaks exclusively with Motorsport.com Italy, a sister portal of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, about his story.
Behind the racing driver is already a young man of astonishing maturity. At just 18 years old, he presents himself with an unusual calmness. Beneath the helmet, gloves, and racing suit lies a story full of hardships, determination, and an extraordinary self-reflection that is palpable in every single answer.
Three years ago, during the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, Helmut Marko was having coffee in the Red Bull hospitality when the conversation turned to the team’s junior program. Lindblad’s name came up – even though he had not yet won a single title in formula racing.
“In three years, he will be driving in Formula 1,” Marko said at the time.
On December 2 last year, the Racing Bulls confirmed exactly that and announced Lindblad as one of their regular drivers for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
“Why was he so convinced?” Lindblad recalls today. “I asked myself that question too. I think a lot had to do with my attitude. I joined the Red Bull junior team at the end of 2020. I was 12 or 13 when I first met Helmut. My father accompanied me, but during the entire meeting, it was basically just Helmut and me talking.”
“My father later told me that Helmut was especially impressed to see a little boy who already knew exactly what he wanted and was completely focused on achieving it.”
Formula 1 as the only plan
Question: “Let’s start there. Many drivers describe Formula 1 as a childhood dream. You have always referred to it as a concrete goal. You were still a child when you told your mother: ‘I’m not going to university. I will be a Formula 1 driver.’ When did this certainty first arise?”
Arvid Lindblad: “It was simply what I wanted to do. For as long as I can remember, my goal was Formula 1. But it wasn’t just about somehow making it there. Even as a six- or seven-year-old kid, I didn’t just dream of racing in Formula 1 – I wanted to be competitive. I wanted to fight for wins.”
“I can’t really explain why I was different from other kids. My mind just worked that way. Of course, I tried other sports too. I played soccer at school, I went swimming like everyone else. But I never once thought that any of that could be my future.”
“For me, there was only Formula 1.”
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Question: “When you started in the junior classes, was there ever a moment when you seriously considered a Plan B?”
Lindblad: “No. Never. In my mind, Plan A just always worked. Even when I was five or six years old, I simply couldn’t imagine a future where I wasn’t a Formula 1 driver.”
“That was not even an option in my mind. Maybe that’s why I never let expectations overwhelm me. Many people are afraid of such enormous goals. Honestly, I never was.”
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Question: “Looking back: Is there a person – apart from your family – who made the biggest difference in your career?”
“Oliver Rowland, without a doubt. He is probably the person who has helped me more than anyone else. I met him when I was seven. Instead of real coaching, we initially just did a few joint kart test days, but our relationship kept growing.”
“After I won the British Kart Championship, we started working much more closely together. He taught me an incredible amount – not just as a driver, but also as a person. I sincerely believe my career would have been very different without Oliver.”
“Of course, I also have to mention Helmut Marko. He gave me a huge opportunity. He believed in me even when others didn’t. I owe a large part of being here today to him. I will always be grateful to him.”
“Those are the two people who had the greatest influence on my path.”
Question: “How do you experience this current phase of life? Does it meet your expectations?”
Lindblad: “Everything is completely different from previous years. My life has changed a lot, but I enjoy it. Driving in Formula 1 is exactly what I have dreamed of since childhood. That’s why I try to savor every moment and truly appreciate what is happening to me right now.”
“I’m someone who adapts quite quickly to new situations, so I usually take things as they come. But every now and then, I pause and remind myself that for years I wanted nothing more than to be exactly in this paddock and drive these cars. And that’s exactly why I enjoy every single moment.”
Is the Red Bull junior team really that tough?
Question: “You went through the entire Red Bull junior program. An insider once told me you were the perfect fit for this system. How did your journey there begin?”
Lindblad: “It all started in karting. Helmut had many contacts in the paddock and regularly inquired about the most promising talents. At some point, my name probably came up more and more often.”
“I remember exactly when everything changed. My father and I were in Portimao preparing for the Kart World Championship. We were just having breakfast when he got a call from Graz. He answered, and when he hung up, he told me that Helmut Marko wanted to meet us to discuss a contract.”
“I remember that moment very well. We met on Sunday morning of the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix before he went to the track. I don’t even remember if we signed the agreement that day, but he told us then that we would be part of the program from now on. That’s where it all really began.”
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Question: “The Red Bull program is known to be tough: If you don’t deliver, you’re out. Did you feel it that way too?”
Lindblad: “I know that’s how it’s perceived from the outside, but I never felt that way. For me, it was simply a huge opportunity. I thought: ‘These people believe in me. They are helping me get into Formula 1.'”
“I never felt that much pressure because in my mind it was very simple: If I’m not fast enough, I’m disappointed in myself. That wouldn’t be Red Bull’s fault – it would just mean I wasn’t good enough.”
“So I never really felt pressured. When I first saw the Red Bull helmet, I just thought: ‘Wow, that looks cool.’ That was it.”
“The same goes for Formula 1 now. Before I got here, everyone warned me the pressure would be enormous. I’m sure there will be a moment when I feel it, but so far, honestly, it hasn’t been the case.”
“Being here is exactly what I have wanted since I was five years old. I’ve worked my whole life for it. I’m grateful to everyone who helped me, but at the end of the day, this is my dream. I live it for myself. So why should I put pressure on myself?”
This memory was the best so far
Question: “What was the strongest emotion you have experienced in motorsport so far?”
Lindblad: “There are two moments that stand out. The first was definitely Silverstone in Formula 3 last year when I won both races. It was actually an extremely strange weekend because everything went wrong.”
“As a team, we made a mistake in qualifying and went out too early. The track kept drying and getting faster while I was one of the first drivers on a flying lap. The lap itself was good, but the timing was completely wrong. I ended up in eleventh place and I remember how angry I was.”
“Until then, I had always been fighting at the front. Sure, eleventh place meant pole position for the sprint race with reversed grid, but honestly, I didn’t care at all. What mattered to me was the main race on Sunday.”
“I did win on Saturday, but from pole it was a fairly straightforward race. Before Sunday, I talked to Oliver Rowland and we agreed that fifth or sixth place under those circumstances would already be an excellent result.”
“Then the rain came. The race turned into absolute chaos – and somehow I ended up winning. It was the first time in my life that emotions overwhelmed me so much that I almost lost control. I was just screaming over the radio. I couldn’t believe what had just happened.”
“I was just indescribably happy. The feeling was better than anything I had ever imagined. Usually, reality never lives up to your dreams, but that day it actually exceeded them. I couldn’t have even dreamed of that.”
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Question: “And the second moment?”
Lindblad: “The Formula 3 sprint race in Bahrain. That win took a huge weight off my shoulders.”
“The direct jump from Formula 4 to Formula 3 was actually considered almost impossible. No one had completed just one F4 season and then immediately been at the front in F3. It was probably the biggest step of my entire career.”
Question: “Even bigger than the step from Formula 2 to Formula 1?”
Lindblad: “Yes, probably. I knew this season would be decisive for my career. If I drove well, people would say I was a special talent. If not, I would have to drastically lower my expectations.”
“After the disappointing end to my Formula 4 season, I had big doubts about myself. Winning at the very first opportunity made all that pressure vanish at once.”
Question: “You didn’t mention Formula 1 in your most emotional moments …”
Lindblad: “Those moments are still to come. But there was one experience I will never forget: It was this March in Melbourne, at the season opener. Until then, I hadn’t really grasped that I was now really a Formula 1 driver. I knew it rationally, but it hadn’t yet reached my heart.”
“The first time it really hit me was on the starting grid. After the national anthem, I went back to the car. I had qualified ninth and was just about to put on my helmet when Oliver Rowland hugged me and said something very simple: ‘All those years of hard work were exactly for this one moment.'”
“Something happened inside me that I had never felt before. For one or two seconds, my whole life flashed before my eyes like a movie. I saw myself as a seven-year-old. Then as an eight-year-old. I remembered how I had dreamed of Formula 1. I saw every difficult moment ahead of me, every year I wondered if I would ever make it.”
“I started crying. I almost immediately pushed it away because I had a race to drive, but this emotion was completely different from anything I had ever felt before.”
“In that moment, it suddenly became clear to me: ‘I made it. I am a Formula 1 driver.'”
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Question: “It’s not just about trophies or results. There’s a deeply personal journey behind it.”
Lindblad: “Exactly. What Oliver said – ‘all those years of hard work were for this moment’ – summed it up perfectly.”
“It represented 13 years of my life. For all the difficult moments, the many times I thought about giving up or doubted myself.”
“It’s hard to put into words how that felt. But honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever experience such a profound feeling again.”
Question: “Do you believe there is such a thing as the perfect lap?”
Lindblad: “That’s an interesting question.”
“When I was younger, I was convinced that the perfect lap doesn’t exist. It was an unattainable ideal for me – you could only try to get as close as possible to it.”
“Today, I see it a bit differently. I believe there are extremely rare moments when you are able to surpass your own limits.”
“I imagine something like that happens when you’re fighting for a world championship or something really big. In such moments, a driver can enter a completely altered mental state. It’s almost as if someone is sitting on your shoulder helping you.”
“You no longer think consciously. Everything runs automatically. You drive purely instinctively – and suddenly you produce a lap that doesn’t even feel real to you.”
“I don’t think you can force it. If you try too hard, it definitely won’t happen. It has to come completely on its own. And you probably experience it only once or twice in an entire career.”
“Ironically, it often happens exactly when you’re going through a tough phase – when you’re under pressure, when you’re struggling and need that certain something. Sometimes you grow beyond yourself exactly then.”
Why Lindblad doesn’t want to live in Monaco
Question: “You have repeatedly emphasized that you do not plan to move to Monaco. Why is that?”
Lindblad: “There are basically two reasons for that.”
“The first is quite simple: The Formula 1 season is so scheduled and intense that I really want to completely switch off from racing in my free time. Monaco is Formula 1, even if you’re not at the track. The drivers are there, the teams are there, everyone talks nonstop about motorsport. I don’t want to live in such an environment.”
“I prefer to live somewhere by the sea, where it’s quiet and no one knows me. Where I can go to the cinema, take walks, meet friends, or just live like any other young guy. That’s extremely important to me.”
“Since my childhood, my life has been completely different from that of my friends. When I’m at the track, I’m a Formula 1 driver through and through. But when I come home, I just want to be a completely normal 18-year-old. I want a completely normal life.”
“And that’s exactly what I have where I live now.”
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Question: “And the second reason?”
Lindblad: “That has to do with my family. I come from a family that had to work extremely hard for everything they own. My father raced a little in his youth, but certainly not because we were swimming in money. Quite the opposite.”
“My grandparents had nothing. There were times when my father had to fight just to get three meals a day. He was already working at eleven or twelve years old.”
“My mother’s family also has an amazing story. My grandparents came from Pakistan and at some point lost everything. Literally everything. Overnight, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs and what they could carry.”
“They came to Great Britain and had to completely rebuild their lives. They worked hard as doctors to provide a future for their children.”
“So I grew up among people who had to earn every single cent through hard work. I think that’s one of the main reasons why I’ve always had this extreme ambition. I don’t know any other way.”
“Settling for an average life was never an option for me. I’ve always wanted to achieve something extraordinary.”
Question: “And that also explains why you avoid Monaco?”
Lindblad: “Exactly. I know many people who live there and tell me that you can lead a completely normal life there in the end. But in my mind, something just resists moving to a place that stands for pure luxury and wealth like no other.”
“When I think that my father barely had enough to eat as a child and my grandparents lost everything, the thought just feels personally wrong to me.”
“That’s my own feeling. I’m not saying Monaco is bad. It’s just that at this point in time, I don’t feel comfortable with that thought.”
“Of course, I’m still a normal guy. I also like to buy nice things sometimes. Maybe in that sense, I’m a bit contradictory. But that’s how I see things today.”
About driver’s license and future vision
Question: “Is it true that you still don’t have a driver’s license?”
Lindblad: “Yes, that’s actually true!” (laughs; editor’s note)
“I was simply so busy that I never found the time for it. And to be honest: Part of me found the idea kind of funny, making it to Formula 1 without even having a driver’s license. That was an amusing anecdote.”
“But slowly it’s really becoming a problem. My mother still has to drive me or I have to call an Uber. Until recently, I simply didn’t need a driver’s license. My daily life was organized in such a way that I could manage without it.”
“Now, however, I’ve found a great training center – with a gym, pool, athletics track, and everything your heart desires. The only catch: It’s about 20 minutes from my home. I can’t keep asking my father to drive me back and forth all the time.”
“So now I’m finally getting my driver’s license. The difference from before is: Now I really need it for the first time. So I’m going to see it through.”
Question: “You are 18 years old and already a Formula 1 driver. What is your relationship with money? Is it a symbol of success, independence – or something you simply don’t think about?”
Lindblad: “Honestly, I hardly waste a thought on it. My approach is very simple: I set sporting goals. If I achieve these goals, the money will come automatically. So why should I worry about it?”
“What excites me much more is building my own brand. I don’t just mean my public image, but also how I can establish a foothold outside the racetrack.”
“I like fashion. I like music. I’m fascinated by the question of which brands I can identify with, which partnerships really make sense, and how I can develop further in this area.”
“I think about things like that. Not to accumulate more money, but because I want to approach things professionally and build something sustainable.”
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Question: “Is there anything else you dream of – outside of Formula 1?”
Lindblad: “There is something that fascinates me a lot when I look at Max Verstappen: I think it’s impressive that he doesn’t just love Formula 1 – he loves motorsport itself. That’s a huge difference.”
“That’s why he founded his own GT team, why he definitely wants to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and why he constantly looks beyond the horizon of Formula 1.”
“When I think about my own future, I realize I think similarly. Of course, I want a long Formula 1 career. I would like to race here for ten or fifteen years.”
“But when that chapter is eventually over, I definitely want to gain very different experiences. I would love to race in the IndyCar series for a few years. I would love to try the Australian Supercars Championship and explore other facets of motorsport that interest me.”
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“The world of motorsport is huge after all.”