Guenther Steiner tells Arvid Lindblad why he isn’t the future of Red Bull in Formula 1 yet

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Guenther Steiner believes that expectations need to be lowered on Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, despite his superb start to life in Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix.

Although only 19 cars set a time during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, few would have predicted the only rookie amongst them, Arvid Lindblad, to get into the top 10 shootout.

The 18-year-old outpaced Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson in Q1 and Q2, only for the team to apologise for a technical fault that stopped him from improving on his time in the top 10 shootout.

As Lawson struggled to get off the line in Melbourne, Lindblad flew, managing to briefly sit in third before being overtaken by several far more experienced drivers in much faster cars.

Lindblad wasn’t afraid of racing Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton, and he became the 70th driver in F1 history to score points on his debut when he took the chequered flag in eighth.

However, Guenther Steiner believes it’s too soon to say that Lindblad is the future of Red Bull, and has sent a warning about getting too excited about the teenager at this stage of his career.

READ MORE: Who is 2026 Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad? Everything you need to know

Guenther Steiner doesn’t think Arvid Lindblad understood the ‘pressure’ of Formula 1 on his debut

Steiner was asked on The Red Flags Podcast whether Lindblad was the future of Red Bull and answered, ‘Brake’, in their Gas or Brake segment.

He continued: “What’s the saying? One swallow doesn’t make a summer.

“He had a very good race, hats off to him, 18-year-old kid, very good. But I think we shouldn’t put too much pressure on him already, because otherwise he’ll fail.

“So, let him do his job, because you go into your first race and I said, actually, I don’t think he realised where he is, and he had no pressure at all.

Does Liam Lawson already need to worry about Arvid Lindblad after the Australian Grand Prix?

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“We have all of these pressures, I don’t think he realised that he had pressure. He was just in Formula 1.

“And now, obviously, everyone is coming along saying, you’re the next Max Verstappen, you’re this, you’re that.

“With that comes a lot of pressure, and hopefully he doesn’t overthink it. So, leave the kid alone!”

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Arvid Lindblad must avoid following in the footsteps of other Red Bull-backed drivers who starred on their debuts

Speaking ahead of his second Formula 1 race weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix, Lindblad admitted: “I don’t really know if it’s all sunk in yet.

“It was a very special weekend, [and] I enjoyed it a lot. In the end, it’s been something I’ve been working towards my whole life, getting to Formula 1, so to have my debut was very special.”

Verstappen winning on his Red Bull debut at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix is the obvious benchmark for any young driver backed by the energy drink company, but not all drivers who impressed on their maiden F1 outings had similar careers.

Lindblad became the seventh driver to score points on his debut in a Red Bull-backed car; however, very few others went on to have successful careers.

Vitantonio Liuzzi (P8, 2005 San Marino GP), Sebastien Bourdais (P7, 2008 Australian GP) and Sebastien Buemi (P7, 2009 Australian GP) all failed to make an impact in F1.

Yuki Tsunoda (P9, 2021 Bahrain GP) and Daniil Kvyat (P9, 2014 Australian GP) were overwhelmed by promotions to the senior Red Bull team, with only Carlos Sainz (P9, 2015 Australian GP) going on to become a race winner.

It’s far too early to start making predictions about who Lindblad might follow in the footsteps of, but Steiner is right to warn against hyping up the 18-year-old so early in his racing career.