(Motorsport-Total.com) – Sunday in Melbourne was a really good one for debutants. Not only was Audi able to score points in the very first race of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but the newly minted Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad also collected four world championship points in his very first appearance.
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In contrast to his teammate Liam Lawson, who barely got off the line at the start and thus forced Franco Colapinto into Jedi reflexes, the Briton got a much better start from 9th place, sprinted to 3rd place at one point, and settled in behind the top teams and Oliver Bearman in 7th place during the course of the race. In the end, a really good 8th place for the debutant was on the board. (To the race report)
“He drove a fantastic race and delivered a near-perfect weekend, which was quite rightly rewarded with points on his debut,” summarizes Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane contentedly. “Although we lacked the final punch at the end to keep Bearman behind us, the car worked extremely well.”
The maximum “squeezed out of the car”
Lindblad himself had not expected this result at all. “To score points right away at the premiere in the top class is simply strong – especially when you consider where we were in Bahrain.”
The last 20 Formula 1 debutants in the points
The 18-year-old sent a huge thank you to the Racing Bulls team after the race, but was also proud of himself. “I didn’t actually make any real mistakes this weekend, and I squeezed the maximum out of the car in almost every session,” the Briton continued.
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When Lindblad was born in 2007, Lewis Hamilton celebrated his debut in Formula 1. Accordingly, the Briton is blown away to be able to duel with the big names of Formula 1 right in the first round. “I was in third place at one point – if you let that sink in, it’s completely crazy. Sharing the track with guys like Lewis, Max, Lando and Co. and having direct duels with them is something very special.”
“The final punch” was missing
Lindblad also had “a lot of fun” in his opening race for that reason. When asked whether we can now expect to see him and the Racing Bulls in the points regularly, the young Briton responds cautiously. “I expect extremely strong fluctuations in form between the teams from weekend to weekend this year. Speculation won’t get us anywhere.”
Lindblad wants to soak up this moment for now. “This track is very special due to the massive demands on energy management. This very topic will play a much larger role this season than in the past.”
The Racing Bulls driver now wants to analyze with his team where he can still improve his driving, “and then the full focus will already be on the race in China.” Because in the end, “the final punch to keep Bearman behind us” was missing after all.
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