Arvid Lindblad reveals why he’s more excited to race Lewis Hamilton than Lando Norris this season

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Arvid Lindblad is the only rookie driver on the grid this year, and the 18-year-old has explained why he has his sights set on going wheel-to-wheel with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton

Lando Norris is entering his very first season as a reigning world champion and will be hoping for McLaren to hand him the tools needed to defend his title amid the new regulations that are in play this season.

With the launch season now well underway, the Woking-based outfit are expected to be one of the final teams to unveil their 2026 challenger.

Racing Bulls, on the other hand, were one of the first, having shown off Arvid Lindblad’s very first F1 car during a joint event with Red Bull in Detroit, Michigan.

Lindblad is joining a grid that is littered with a multitude of established Grand Prix winners and world champions, including one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the sport.

• READ MORE: Arvid Lindblad reveals the ‘difficult’ advice Red Bull bosses have given him ahead of his F1 debut

Fill in the blank: Arvid Lindblad will win ___ races during his F1 career.

How many Grand Prix victories do you think Arvid Lindblad will claim? Let us know!

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Arvid Lindblad explains why it will be ‘super cool’ to race against Lewis Hamilton during rookie F1 season

During an interview with TalkSPORT at Red Bull’s 2026 F1 season launch event, Lindblad was asked about his sentiment towards racing against a sporting legend in Lewis Hamilton during his rookie F1 campaign.

Lindblad’s famous ‘see you in five years’ comment to Norris back in 2021 has proved to be spot on, and the 18-year-old previously revealed that the prediction was inspired by Hamilton’s confident words to the then-McLaren boss Ron Dennis when he was a youngster.

Asked how special it is to race against the reigning world champion following his comments, Lindblad said, “Lewis more than Lando. With Lando, I’d already been into the sport quite a bit when he first made his debut.

“It was only really in 2023 that he started to really take off. But Lewis was a massive part of my early interest in the sport. I felt a great connection towards him because he was the only one of colour.

“His debut was the year I was born, and he was doing really well at the time I got interested in the sport.”

Then asked if racing alongside his idol is going to bring some nervousness to the cockpit, Lindblad replied, “I haven’t really thought about that much.

“It’s a really cool idea in the sense that when I fell in love with the sport, Lewis was doing well, and starting to win his world championships in Mercedes, and now I’m going to be sharing the track with him.

“Obviously, on that side, it’s super cool. I mean, you still want to beat your idols. So, I mean, I don’t think I’ll race with him any differently. But for sure, it’s cool to be able to share the track with him.”

• READ MORE: Damon Hill sees one clear reason why Lewis Hamilton won’t make it to the end of 2026 with Ferrari

Arvid Lindblad is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Isack Hadjar

As a seven-time world champion and holder of some of F1’s greatest records, Hamilton’s influence on the sport cannot be understated.

Despite the British driver not being in the finest form of his career at the moment, he still remains on a pedestal for every new driver who gets a shot at competing in F1.

Like Lindblad, Isack Hadjar was enamoured with Hamilton ahead of his rookie season, and previously disclosed how ‘special’ the Ferrari star was to him during the Frenchman’s climb up the single-seater ladder.

Lindblad will be having one eye on Hadjar’s seat during his rookie season.

If the 21-year-old succumbs to the issues that all of Max Verstappen’s teammates have had in recent years, a seat at the frontrunning Red Bull team may be his for the taking if the Briton manages to impress.