Why Red Bull’s next Max Verstappen idolised Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad has revealed an unusual affiliation with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Billed as Red Bull’s next Max Verstappen, Lindblad made his F1 race weekend debut at the British Grand Prix after he was given an exemption allowing him to gain his Super Licence ahead of his 18th birthday.

Arvid Lindblad no longer idolises Lewis Hamilton

Lindblad is currently competing in his maiden Formula 2 campaign. He claimed victory in the Jeddah Sprint and again in the Feature race in Spain to sit seventh in the title race.

It’s a performance that builds on a dominant campaign in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship at the start of the year, a feat that played a significant role in the approval of his Super Licence exemption.

A dual national of both Sweden and the United Kingdom, Lindblad was born in October 2007. Growing up, he admits he was a Hamilton fan, feeling something of an affiliation given he was born the year the now-Ferrari driver made his F1 debut.

“When I started to get more into the sport, it was at the point where he was winning,” Lindblad admitted. “Then obviously being of colour, and myself being of colour, I felt some form of link.

“I also thought it was a bit weird, but the fact that his first year in F1 was the year I was born, so I felt some form of affiliation towards him in the beginning, when I was sort of seven, eight.”

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Lindblad is the leading light within Red Bull’s junior driver programme. His rapid rise through the ranks, and that he has not only obtained a Super Licence ahead of time but also driven in a Free Practice session in place of Yuki Tsunoda.

The 18-year-old is tipped to be promoted into a race drive with Racing Bulls next season, based on the assumption Tsunoda moves on with Honda at the end of the season.

Whether that would see him partner Isack Hadjar or Liam Lawson is unclear – and likely a decision that has not yet been made by Red Bull’s driver advisor, Helmut Marko.

On the precipice of an F1 seat, Lindblad admits that he’s since outgrown his fandom of a driver who could be a rival next season.

“I’ve kind of now got to a point where I don’t think I idolise any of the drivers in Formula 1, but just have a very big respect for them all,” he explained. “The level they perform at is extremely impressive, and I just respect them all very highly.”

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