Valtteri Bottas has spelled out exactly what Arvid Lindblad must learn in his rookie F1 season

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Arvid Lindblad is the only rookie on the Formula 1 grid in 2026, and he has a lot to learn as he steps up from F2 with Racing Bulls.

The 18-year-old is highly rated within the Red Bull setup, having had an impressive junior career. He will replace Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls after his promotion to the main team.

He has not even made his F1 debut yet, but already Lindblad has been told he is not the next Hadjar. Many have raised doubts over his short stint in F2 and whether he is ready for F1 – even Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies had questions about Lindblad’s results.

How worried should Racing Bulls be about Arvid Lindblad’s Imola spin on his first lap in the 2026 car?

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Nevertheless, the Brit got the nod to race with Red Bull’s sister team alongside Liam Lawson. He is already feeling the pressure of F1, as Lindblad spun during a private test at Imola, albeit in tricky and wet conditions.

The fact is that he has a lot to get accustomed to at Racing Bulls, and he is fighting to stay on the grid beyond 2026. But Lindblad has the right support around him, and he even has some pointers from his rivals.

Arvid Lindblad must listen to Valtteri Bottas’ advice on what a rookie must learn in F1

Fortunately for the 18-year-old, he has several veteran drivers he can look up to in 2026. One of them is Valtteri Bottas, who will return to full-time racing this season with newcomers, Cadillac.

The Finn spoke on the BBC’s Back at Base podcast, where he shared what a rookie needs to learn in his rookie season. He is more than equipped to give advice, as Bottas helped Kimi Antonelli during his debut year at Mercedes in 2025.

“The first thing you have to learn is how to deal with working with so many different kinds of people,” he said.

“That’s something you can’t practice in F3 or F2. The amount of people is multiplied many times that you’ve got to work with and you have to be able to work with and extract the most out of them, so that’s one big thing.

“But also your time management. You will have much more events, much more travelling and you will have to manage your time, how to preserve your energy for the race weekends. Those are probably the biggest two things I would say for a rookie.”

These pointers will be worth taking on board for Lindblad. He is stepping into an entirely new world, with more responsibilities and pressure to perform – he has to ensure that he is as prepared as possible.

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

Arvid Lindblad cannot get carried away during his debut F1 season

Lindblad’s impressive trajectory to F1 has made him a talent to watch for the future. In 2026, he will be racing against some of the all-time greats.

Lindblad is excited to race against Lewis Hamilton in 2026, while Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen are other champions he will have to contend with.

Daniel Ricciardo offered Lindblad advice on how to race Verstappen, telling him he needs a ‘really big ego’. But the teenager cannot afford for that to get too out of hand, and Red Bull know it.

Red Bull told Lindblad he cannot be ‘naive’ ahead of his debut season. He must know that he will be in for a tough season and needs to have complete focus on the task at hand.