Arvid Lindblad is eagerly awaiting his Formula 1 debut. The British driver is desperate to mix it up with the rest of the field, particularly his idol Lewis Hamilton. The seven‑time world champion played a key role in Lindblad’s first introduction to motorsport. While it’s “supercool” for the Brit to share the circuit with Hamilton, he has one clear objective: “You still want to beat your idols.”
Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie on the 2026 grid. The British driver makes his top‑flight debut just two years after his Formula 3 debut. Exactly as Lindblad promised the reigning world champion Lando Norris five years earlier. “I remember Lando coming to the kart track in 2021 — he launched his own chassis and turned up at one of the races,” the 2026 rookie told Autocar earlier. “So I went over to Lando and the first thing I said was, ‘Remember me, I’ll see you in five years.’ I drew some inspiration from the story of Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis, where Hamilton said he would one day drive for their team.”
Still, with his Formula 1 adventure about to begin, Lindblad is now more eager for on-track fights with Lewis Hamilton than with Norris. “When Lando debuted, I was already fairly familiar with the sport. Only in 2023 did he really break through. But Lewis played a big role in my early interest in the sport. I felt a strong connection with him because he was the only driver of a different skin colour,” Lindblad explains during Red Bull’s season launch event. “He debuted in the year I was born. He performed very well when I became interested in the sport.”
‘You want to beat your idols’
The young rookie was then asked whether he’s nervous about racing against his idol. “I haven’t really thought about that yet,” Lindblad says honestly. “It’s a really cool idea in the sense that when I fell in love with the sport, Lewis was doing well and started winning his world championships at Mercedes. And now I’m going to share the track with him. That’s obviously super cool. I mean, you still want to beat your idols. So I don’t think I’ll race him any differently. But it’s certainly cool to be able to share the circuit with him.”
