Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane sees potential upside for rookie Arvid Lindblad, who makes his debut amid the introduction of sweeping new regulations. The young British‑Swedish driver has been promoted by Red Bull from his Formula 2 seat at Campos to the sister team in Faenza. Permane says the new rules give Lindblad chances to gain experience in a safe, structured way.
“Yes, the step from Formula 2 to Formula 1 is a huge leap,” Permane admitted to MotorsportWeek. “It’s much bigger than the step from, say, Formula 3 to Formula 2. Of course he’ll be doing a lot of simulator running. The team and Arvid (Lindblad, ed.) are fortunate that, because of the regulation changes, he — like everyone else — has to adapt this season. The fact there are three times as many test days as in previous years will help him enormously. Instead of one and a half days he now has four and a half; that’s a big change. I’m certain that will do him good.”
First spin confirmed
Arvid Lindblad replaces Isack Hadjar, who after an impressive debut season at Racing Bulls has been promoted to Red Bull’s main team. Alongside four‑time world champion Max Verstappen, the young Parisian — who scored his first podium last year — is being thrown in at the deep end again. Permane pushed back, pointing to the advantages of Red Bull’s approach to developing young talent. “You can look at it two ways,” he said. “You could say Red Bull offers Hadjar a clean slate. But he doesn’t just have to get to grips with a new car; he also has to learn how to function inside a new team. That’s twice the work.”
“We simply want to prepare Arvid as best we can,” Permane continued, optimistic. “This team is very good at guiding young drivers. We help them where we can and make sure they can fully focus on their driving and the different cars. So we’re looking forward to him being on the grid.” This week the 18‑year‑old already put a few test laps in at Imola during a special filming day. Racing Bulls’ running, however, was hit by exceptional weather conditions; ice on the track caused Lindblad to lose control and spin at least once.
