Dec.7 (GMM) Helmut Marko has explained why 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad has been fast-tracked into a 2026 F1 seat despite a patchy mid-season in Formula 2.
The teenager ended the year with a sprint year in Abu Dhabi so far – and even drove Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull on Friday, finishing FP1 in P15 with 26 laps.
Lindblad, though, was blunt about his own performance.
“Speaking about the session itself, I wasn’t very happy with how it went for me,” he said. “I feel like I could have done a better job and it identified some issues that I need to work on for next year.
“Driving in both F1 and F2 this weekend was a new experience for me and required some balancing acts.”
Nevertheless, Marko is understood to have pushed strongly for Lindblad to debut at Racing Bulls – ahead of the more experienced Tsunoda, who now shifts into a Red Bull reserve role.
“Red Bull is a team known for giving young drivers opportunities and developing them,” Marko told reporters. “At 18, he’s perfectly prepared for this.
“He’s placed high in every junior championship since his debut. Arvid is very mature. I’d say he’s a 25-year-old in an 18-year-old’s body.”