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Racing BullsArvid Lindblad Embraces Steep F1 Learning Curve as 2026’s Only Rookie

His one-season-per-category rise fuels confidence that adaptability will serve him in the first year of the new ruleset.

Overview

  • The 18-year-old says he is used to being “thrown in the deep end” but expects a demanding step up in his debut campaign.
  • Red Bull signed him as a junior in 2021 and prepared him with Testing of Previous Cars and valuable FP1 mileage.
  • He received an FIA superlicense dispensation to run FP1 at Silverstone and Mexico, finishing sixth in the Mexico session.
  • He advanced annually from F4 through F3 and placed sixth in the 2025 Formula 2 championship with Campos Racing.
  • The 2026 cars add manual override mode, active aerodynamics, and a battery delivering about 50% of total power, with pre-season tests scheduled for Barcelona (Jan 26–30) and Bahrain (Feb 11–13, Feb 18–20) before the March 6 season opener in Australia.