Red Bull will love what Arvid Lindblad said was ‘most surprising’ about racing Max Verstappen

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Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad was one of the stars of the Australian Grand Prix, scoring four points on his Formula 1 debut.

Arvid Lindblad impressed in qualifying for Racing Bulls and was unlucky to start behind his teammate Liam Lawson, as an issue in Q3 meant he couldn’t keep up his streak of setting a faster time than the 24-year-old in the previous two sessions.

The 18-year-old managed to move up to third during the opening laps of the race, and Ralf Schumacher suggested Lindblad ‘completely outclassed’ Lawson in the process.

In the end, the British driver had to settle for P8, although Oliver Bearman praised Lindblad after the race following their battle.

But what was telling in the early stages was how aggressive Lindblad was when fighting Max Verstappen, and Red Bull will love how fearless their latest protege was when he came up against the four-time world champion.

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Arvid Lindblad says it was ‘most surprising’ that Max Verstappen didn’t attack him very quickly in Melbourne

It was put to Lindblad on Channel 4 by host Steve Jones that he had been a ‘bit of a beast’ and didn’t ‘mind sticking his elbows out’, especially when racing the likes of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, and he replied: “Why should I? I’m here to race fair, but also race hard.

“I’ve worked my whole life to have this moment. I was dreaming of moments like this, racing in Formula 1. So, it was really cool to share the track with them, but I’m not gonna roll over, and they’ve achieved a lot; they’ve done an incredible job, but in the end, when I’m in the car, I’m a fearless competitor.

Mark Webber then asked Lindblad about when he was specifically battling Verstappen and said: “It all kind of settled down a bit, and that Max was coming.

“And the thing for me that was the most surprising was that Max was not really coming that fast.

“So I was thinking, wow, can I keep Max at bay? And then he came, and at the end, I defended for about a lap, and then he was much quicker as he went.

“But, I mean, I’ve been coming through the ranks the last couple of years, and I’ve been seeing Max on the TV, seeing what he’s been doing, and the level he performs at, and all that he can do is extremely impressive.

“To share battles with him and to race with him was extremely fun.”

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Arvid Lindblad summarises his ‘insane’ Formula 1 debut with Racing Bulls

Lindblad was asked whether he expected to finish P8 on his debut in Australia and said: “No, definitely not.

“I mean, this has been a moment I’ve been dreaming of my whole life, getting to Formula 1, having my debut this weekend has been extremely exciting and very special, and I’m very proud of the job I and the team have done and RBPT Ford.

“To finish in the points on debut, but being honest, I don’t think that really summarises what happened in the race.

“I think I was P3 at one point on lap one, which is pretty insane to think about. And I think in a Racing Bulls that’s normally not where we are. To be on debut as well, fighting there is pretty cool, and to be having battles with guys like Lewis, Max, and Lando is very special.”

Although Red Bull might be slightly worried that Verstappen couldn’t breeze past Lindblad, the fighting spirit of the 18-year-old will have caught their eye.

There would have been some doubts about promoting Lindblad, given his Formula 2 campaign was decent but contained several errors.

Helmut Marko highly rates Lindblad, and his attitude to fighting the top drivers on the grid is exactly what Red Bull want from their drivers.

It’s too early for the 18-year-old to be considered as a potential replacement for Isack Hadjar, and the Frenchman hasn’t done anything to suggest that he deserves to be dropped, but Red Bull will be glad that their pipeline of drivers is still producing young stars.