Lindblad delivers on Lewis Hamilton-inspired promise to Lando Norris
Arvid Lindblad told Lando Norris he would see him "in five years".
Red Bull prospect Arvid Lindblad once told Lando Norris, to his face, to “remember me”, as he would be seeing him “in five years” as a Formula 1 rival. That was a nod to his racing idol Lewis Hamilton.
Skip forward to December 2, 2025, and Lindblad’s words have been confirmed as fact. It has been announced that the highly-rated British racer will make his Formula 1 debut next season with Racing Bulls. That confirmation came as part of Red Bull announcing its complete driver line-ups for F1 2026.
Red Bull rising star Arvid Lindblad to make F1 2026 debut
As reported by PlanetF1.com earlier this week, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed in Qatar that the F1 2026 line-ups for both of their teams would be unveiled on Tuesday. That statement was honoured.
It was fantastic news for Isack Hadjar, who will be promoted to Red Bull next year, partnering Max Verstappen.
Lindblad also received the news that he was after. The teenager will graduate from F2 to an F1 2026 seat at Racing Bulls. His teammate will be Liam Lawson.
That re-shuffle means that Yuki Tsunoda loses his place on the grid, having become the latest driver to struggle alongside Verstappen at Red Bull. He will, however, remain a part of the team, with Red Bull confirming Tsunoda as their F1 2026 test and reserve driver.
Lindblad is one of the most exciting juniors to come through the Red Bull system in some time. He holds the record as the youngest race winner in both F3 and F2, and this year has won two races in what will be his sole F2 season.
Preparing to join the F1 grid at 18 years of age, footage has resurfaced of a 14-year-old Lindblad approaching Norris, and putting him on notice that they were future F1 rivals.
Norris heads to Abu Dhabi this weekend – where Lindblad will be in F2 action – looked to secure his first Formula 1 World Championship. Norris leads the way by 12 points from Red Bull’s four-time champion Verstappen. Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri also has a chance of winning the title.
“Hello Lando, I want you to remember me,” Lindblad begins. “I’ll see you in five years.”
5 years later Arvid and Lando WILL be seeing each other on the track pic.twitter.com/nDJumvjiD3
— LN⁴ (@LN4) December 2, 2025
In a 2025 appearance on the Inside Line F1 podcast, Lindblad explained his reasoning for approaching Norris to make that bold statement.
Lindblad was following the Lewis Hamilton blueprint.
More on the Red Bull F1 2026 driver decisions
👉 Red Bull confirms worst-kept secret with major Isack Hadjar announcement
👉 Yuki Tsunoda receives new Red Bull role in F1 2026 driver shakeup
Hamilton famously approached then McLaren chief Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony to tell him that “one day I want to be Formula 1 World Champion in your car”. Like Lindblad has delivered on his promise, Hamilton did also back then by winning his maiden world championship with McLaren in 2008.
“I was just walking in the paddock, and he [Norris] was there that day because he launched his go-kart, and just felt like it,” said Lindblad of his encounter with Norris.
“I remember the story of Hamilton when he saw Ron Dennis for the first time and said, ‘I’ll drive one of your cars one day,’ and I just thought, ‘Why not? Just tell him I’ll be driving against him in a few years time.’ So it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and just said it with full confidence.”
Lindblad’s confidence that day has been rewarded, as he prepares to line-up against Norris on the F1 2026 grid.
Read next: Racing Bulls makes major F1 2026 driver announcement
