Advertisement<\/p>\n
So with only three races under his belt, Lindblad tells Newsbeat he’s not got used to describing himself as an F1 driver yet.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in,” he says.<\/p>\n
“This is something I’ve been working towards my whole life. So the fact it’s come true is extremely special, extremely cool.”<\/p>\n
And Lindblad says he can’t wait to get back to racing again in the US in a fortnight.<\/p>\n
“What I’m most looking forward to is getting back into the car in Miami,” he says.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
“I’ve enjoyed the break but racing is my passion. It’s probably what makes me happiest.”<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e4756d96f18554494168256642c18f93.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
The F1 driver has three cultures represented on the back of his helmet [Getty Images]<\/p>\n
Eagled-eye fans have noticed Lindblad’s racing helmet has three flags on the back – for England, Sweden and India.<\/p>\n
He grew up in Virginia Water in Surrey but his dad’s Swedish and his family’s Indian heritage comes from his mum’s side.<\/p>\n
“I’ve really been surrounded by all three cultures. It’s shaped me into the person and driver I am today,” he says.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Lindblad has a few months to wait until his first home Grand Prix \u2013 at Silverstone in July \u2013 something he says will “be really special”.<\/p>\n
“My whole family will be there. I think racing at home, there’s no real feeling like it.”<\/p>\n
But somewhere he won’t be able to race this season is another place that means a lot to him \u2013 India.<\/p>\n
The Buddh International Circuit hosted races in in Uttar Pradesh for three seasons but ended in 2013.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
It didn’t return after a tax dispute with the local authorities, with F1 bosses stating at the time the reasons behind it were “very political”<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lindblad went to Delhi with Racing Bulls in pre-season and says getting the chance to race there would be “really cool”.<\/p>\n “I race under the British flag so having one home race is pretty cool, if there were to be a second one that’d be really special as well,” he says.<\/p>\n “I don’t know the ins and outs of it, or how realistic it is, but it would mean a lot to me.”<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Earlier this week, an Indian government minister claimed there would be an India Grand Prix next year.<\/p>\n But F1 bosses told The Independent<\/a> that wasn’t true, saying “we won’t be racing there in 2027”.<\/p>\n Arvid Lindblad’s dad Stefan is Swedish and his mum Anita is of Indian descent [Getty Images]<\/p>\n Lindblad’s so new to the sport that he hasn’t even taken part in what’s become a rite of passage for F1 drivers \u2013 introducing himself to the Drive to Survive cameras.<\/p>\n The Netflix documentary series follows F1 every season and Lindblad says he’s looking forward to his moment in the spotlight.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “Drive to Survive started when I was 10, when I was in the beginning of my karting journey,” he says.<\/p>\n “So I’ve watched loads of those clips and to be able to sit in that chair will be really cool at some point.”<\/p>\n Lindblad says the “vibes are good” in the garage alongside teammate Liam Lawson, but it’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen he’s clicked with.<\/p>\n “His journey to F1 was quite similar to mine, we both came in at a young age and rose through the ranks quite quickly,” he says.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “He’s been really good on that side if I needed some advice or had a question.”<\/p>\n Whatever happens this season, it doesn’t seem like Lindblad’s going to be swapping the cockpit for something slower like his skateboard any time soon.<\/p>\n “I can ride on the board very comfortably now, I can go on ramps, I can’t go all the way up but I am pretty decent,” he says.<\/p>\n “I said by the end of the year if I could learn how to do a kickflip that would be pretty cool.”<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Listen to Newsbeat live<\/a> at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Arvid](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1dcb7545198d71aff134db30cf05978a.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776557293_926_.gif\"\/)
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arvid Lindblad was supposed to be driving at 200mph around the streets of Jeddah in the Saudi Arabian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[37185,230881,49,48,64083,578,136285,576,577,3758,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-613391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-arvid-lindblad","9":"tag-bbc-newsbeat","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-drive-to-survive","13":"tag-f1","14":"tag-f1-driver","15":"tag-formula-1","16":"tag-formula1","17":"tag-grand-prix","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}