Racing Bulls driver and 2026 Formula 1 rookie Arvid Lindblad was asked if he felt well prepared for his maiden season in the top flight and admitted he wasn’t sure.Lindblad was promoted by Red Bull from Formula 2 to their junior F1 team, Racing Bulls, replacing Isack Hadjar, who was moved to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing, replacing Yuki Tsunoda.
His arrival into F1 coincides with one of the biggest regulation changes in the history of the sport, and his first outing in his team’s VCARB 03 did not end well, as he got beached in the gravel trap following a shakedown at Imola.
Now taking part in the pre-season private test in Barcelona, Lindblad has got some more laps under his belt.
“I don’t know,” he told F1 TV when asked if he felt ready for F1. “I mean, I’ve got a lot to learn. If I’m entirely ready, I don’t know.
“It’s not really something I think about. I’m more thinking about how I can try to get more ready. What are the things that can help me learn to be in the best position possible when we get to Melbourne.
“So, I’m just focused on working hard with the team on the sim here at the track with the engineers, just trying to learn as much as I can, be a bit of a sponge on that side. And yeah, then we’ll see,” the rookie added.
Racing Bulls are satisfied though
However, Racing Bulls technical chief Tim Goss insists their new driver is up for the task and impressed with his approach.
Goss said of Lindblad: “He’s really calm, really professional—feedback is really, really straightforward.
“For someone so young, it’s really, really impressive, and his session in the car has really just been about getting to grips with this breed of car.
“They’re very, very different, not just the general handling of the car but the way you’ve just got to manage the energy and the energy management, and he’s just been really, really cool, calm, professional.
“As we’re getting to grips with the balance of the car, his feedback has just been really simple, really clear, so really, really impressed with him,” Goss concluded.
Lindblad finished fourth in the 2024 Formula 3 Championship and sixth in the 2025 F2 Championship.