Arvid Lindblad is one of the hottest prospects coming out of the current Formula 2 grid, and with reports linking him to a potential race seat in F1 for 2026, Juan Pablo Montoya has shared his perspective on a move.
The young British driver made his debut in F1 machinery on a race weekend at the British Grand Prix in July. Lindblad impressed many, including Lando Norris, who noted that he will probably be racing against him in F1 in years to come.
Lindblad has also caught the eye of Alex Jacques, who told F1 Oversteer that he would be ‘astounded’ if the 18-year-old didn’t make an appearance in the pinnacle of motorsport one day.
Lindblad has been a member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2021, where he has honed his single-seater skills on the way to a couple of feeder series championship triumphs.
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Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t think Arvid Lindblad is ready for F1 after watching him in F2 this season
Speaking with AS Colombia, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya spoke about the possibility of Lindblad being called up to race in F1 next season, to which the Colombian driver shared his doubts but understands if they ‘have’ to do it.
Montoya said, “If Lindblad, who I personally think is not ready, but if Racing Bulls want Lindblad next year, who do you take out? Yuki or Lawson?
“They would have to take out Yuki, you have to put Hadjar in the Red Bull and Lindblad in the RB. And especially because if Red Bull does not do well next year and there are staff changes in Red Bull, the opportunity of Lindblad entering Formula 1 would get complicated.”
The young British driver is currently in seventh place of the F2 drivers’ standings, taking his only Feature Race win at round six of the championship in Barcelona.
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Red Bull should look to Kimi Antonelli’s rookie season in F1 as a case study on bringing young drivers in too early
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli is in a very similar position to what Montoya is alluding to could happen to Lindblad if Red Bull opt to put him in an F1 race seat for next year.
The 18-year-old has come under increasing pressure in recent months due to a run of bad form.
Martin Brundle said Antonelli would be ‘living in fear’ if he were part of the Red Bull team instead of Mercedes, which can be seen as another warning to Lindblad and the Austrian constructor if they are thinking of getting him straight into an F1 seat following a single year in F2.
PositionDriverTeamPoints1Leonardo FornaroliInvicta Racing1542Jak CrawfordDAMS Lucas Oil1373Richard VerschoorMP Motorsport1354Luke BrowningHitech TGR1255Alex DunneRodin Motorsport1246Pepe MartiCampos Racing977Arvid LindbladCampos Racing92
Helmut Marko responded to Brundle’s comments, saying that Antonelli is only under pressure due to the German constructor dropping him in at the deep end with the works team.
Marko stated that Red Bull’s ability to start young drivers off at Racing Bulls alleviates some of the pressure.