Formula 1\u2019s newest driver, Arvid Lindblad, has revealed why he chose 41 to be the number he races with.<\/p>\n
After six rookies entered the 2025 season, 2026 sees just one join the grid \u2013 the highly rated Lindblad, who takes over Isack Hadjar\u2019s Racing Bulls seat following his promotion to Red Bull.<\/p>\n
Arvid Lindblad reveals reason behind unusual F1 number choice<\/p>\n
When Lindblad emerges for the first time from the pit lane, his Racing Bulls will have the number 41 on it \u2013 a rarity in the history of Formula 1.<\/p>\n
The number has seldom been used in F1; you have to go back to 2015 for the last time it was seen on track, with Susie Wolff using it for her free practice sessions with Williams.<\/p>\n
As to why Lindblad chose the number, during Racing Bulls\u2019 launch event in Detroit, the 18-year-old revealed it was due to how it resembles his initials AL.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s actually quite funny,\u201d he said of his number choice. \u201cI was talking with someone who helps from Red Bull.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were having dinner once, and we were talking about the number, and she suggested 41, 45, and 51, kind of from my name.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she asked me what I thought and I was like, \u2018I have no idea.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I thought 41 was the coolest of the three. And also I quite liked it because it\u2019s not really a number that\u2019s been used before.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the lower numbers have been used in other sports and they\u2019re very associated to someone. So I thought it was cool to have a number that\u2019s not really been used before.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then obviously, yeah, from my name, the initials, you can kind of see it. So yeah, I thought it was quite cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a lot of anticipation to see how Lindblad fares in F1 with the British-Swedish driver one of the most highly rated youngsters to enter the sport for a number of years.<\/p>\n
He finished his one and only F2 season in sixth but one of his biggest admirers was up, until recently, one of the key decision makers at Red Bull, Helmut Marko,<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite a big thing,\u201d the rookie said of his link with Marko.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I\u2019ve worked very closely with them the last couple years, Rocky [Guillaume Rocquelin, Head of the Red Bull Driver Academy] and Dr Marko and the whole team. I\u2019m extremely grateful for their support and all the work we\u2019ve done, but especially with Dr Marko.<\/p>\n
More on Racing Bulls from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n
*\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Surreal moment\u2019 as Racing Bulls introduces Lindblad, F1 2026\u2019s sole rookie<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s not been the easiest year for me. I\u2019m not happy with how it\u2019s gone, but he believed in me when others didn\u2019t, and I\u2019m very grateful for that.<\/p>\n \u201cI find it funny when a lot of people say how difficult it can be to work with him, their stories of how they struggled to work with Dr Marko, how he\u2019s very difficult and people are scared of him. For me, it\u2019s always been the opposite. I\u2019ve always had a very good relationship with him.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are certain things he wants to see, and I mean, I can\u2019t talk for others and their experience, but I\u2019ve always had a very good relationship with him, and he\u2019s helped my career massively. The fact that he believed in me when others didn\u2019t, I\u2019m very grateful towards him, because this opportunity wouldn\u2019t have come without him.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really like excuses and when people talk rubbish, and he doesn\u2019t do that \u2013 he just says the truth, and I like to do the same. I think on that side, it\u2019s helped me. It\u2019s helped me to learn the best way, helped me progress the fastest, because he just says the truth and the way things have been. And I appreciate that honesty as well, because there are a lot of people in motorsport who want you to tell them what they want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n
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*\u00a0Liam Lawson turns to \u2018the best\u2019 in engine management ahead of all-new F1 2026<\/a><\/p>\n