Last year, the Formula 1 grid saw several fresh faces, as some rookie drivers joined the grid.
This year, Arvid Lindblad stands alone as the single rookie on the grid.
All the 18-year-old has done is impress through his first three races, scoring points in his debut at the Australian Grand Prix. Now, as the grid returns after an extended break, the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver is looking ahead to his first Miami Grand Prix, and building on a strong start to the season.
Ahead of Lindblad’s first Miami Grand Prix, SB Nation sat down with the young driver to talk about the start of his F1 journey, where he needs to improve, and his first race in Miami.
Arvid Lindblad’s 2026 F1 season so far
Lindblad’s rookie season has consisted of just three races, but that is where our conversation began. How would he describe his season so far?
“I think it’s gone pretty well. I mean, obviously, Melbourne was the first race, Q3 points on debut was pretty cool. Japan, there were moments of that weekend that were really good as well,” began Lindblad.
”I’d sort of summarize it that there’s been quite a few good moments, that have been sort of confidence boosters for me, and sort of shown that I can do a good job. But there’s also been things that haven’t gone so well, which have highlighted the areas to improve,” continued Lindblad. “So I have confidence in myself [yet] I know I’ve still got areas to work on, which I think is a really nice place to be in, in the early part of my rookie year.”
As he mentioned, Lindblad finished in the points in his first F1 race, a strong P8 in his debut at the Australian Grand Prix. I asked the VCARB rookie to describe that finish for me.
It was more than he could have imagined.
“It was pretty cool,” began Lindblad.
“I always dreamed of getting to Formula One, so to have that, that day itself, was very special. And to have my parents there as well that weekend was really cool.
“And then just the way the weekend went, Q3, points, even running P3 at one point on lap one was more than I could have ever imagined.”
Having scored points in his debut, I wondered if Lindblad had another big item that was next to cross off his F1 “to-do” list. A podium? A win?
The rookie driver does have a goal, but it is not what you might expect.
“I don’t know. I mean, you would say the next sort of chronological step is to score a podium, but in the end, that’s not really something I’m consciously thinking about,” described Lindblad.
“In the end, that’s an outcome.
“I know that there’s a lot of things I can still work on,” outlined the driver.
“There’s a lot of things to improve, so I’m very much focused on that, and trying to continue to, to learn, to develop, and I know that if I do that right, then the outcomes, the results, will come with that, but it’s not something I’m sort of proactively thinking about.”
A year ago, several rookies joined the grid on a full-time basis.
2026, however, is rather different as Lindblad is the only rookie on the grid. I asked the VCARB driver what it was like being the only rookie in F1 this season.
As he pointed out, being the fresh face on the grid has been something of a career path for him.
“I don’t know, it’s not really something I think about, to be honest. I mean, I’ve come very quickly through the ranks. In single seaters every year I’ve been in a new category, but even from earlier, you know, in karting, I’m always used to, as soon as I could go to the next category I did, so I was always the sort of the, the young guy, the new kid sort of on the block kind of thing,“ Lindblad said.
“I’m kind of used to this sort of feeling. Obviously, in F1 it’s different, but I’m used to that feeling of having been thrown in the deep end, having a challenge, having to kind of figure it out.“
The discussion then turned to VCARB’s partnership with Mobil, and how that helps Lindblad and teammate Liam Lawson on the track.
“I mean, it’s a massive partnership with Mobil,” started Lindblad. “I’ve been learning a lot about it, and it’s been, it’s been really cool to see.
“I mean, obviously this year with the new engines, their involvement, their expertise, their help has helped massively to make sure that the first Red Bull engine is working in a really good way, I and the team are extremely grateful to them for that, and I also think it’s pretty cool that the experts that are doing our race fuel are also, you know, doing the fuel in the fuel stations.”
Fans can also join in on the fun this week in Miami. If you ever wanted to hop into a simulator and try to beat an F1 driver’s time, you can do so at the Mobil station at 18301 NW 27th Ave, Miami Gardens, on Wednesday, April 29, from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern and Thursday, April 30, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Lindblad himself will be there on Wednesday, and he is looking forward to that event.
“Mobil is doing a fan event that I’ll be at later today, [with a] simulator, free merch, and, just nice interaction with the fans, so that’ll be really cool, and, hopefully people will enjoy it,” added the VCARB driver.
After a long layoff, F1 is back for this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
Lindblad walked me through what his preparations have been for his first F1 race in Miami.
“It’s been good,“ began the driver.
“Obviously it’s been a bit different because we’ve come off quite a long break, and then we’re straight in, kind of thrown in the deep end in the sense of, it’s a new track, sprint weekend, in the first race back. So [I tried] to do a lot of preparation on the sim, to get up to speed, understand the circuit, get my approaches, references, all that kind of stuff,” continued Lindblad. “Try to prepare in the best way possible, but you can’t, you can’t prepare for everything, so it’s still gonna be a challenge when they get out on track.
“But I’m looking forward to it.”
What will also help is the decision by F1 to add some extra practice time to the single practice session this week. The Miami Grand Prix is an F1 Sprint Race weekend, meaning teams have just one practice ahead of F1 Sprint qualifying. But due to the extended break, and some rule changes implemented by the sport ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, that single practice session has been extended by 30 minutes.
Lindblad admitted that will help both him, and the team.
“Yeah, for sure it’s gonna help,” started Lindblad.
“I mean, obviously for me, as a rookie to get that a little bit more track time before we get into the sort of more competitive running, let’s say, for sure helps. Also for the teams as well, there have been changes on the on the rules and the regulations for this event, so to get that little bit of extra time just to sort of understand it and, you know, dial that all in, is really useful. Because maybe an hour sounds, I don’t know, long or short, but especially on a sprint weekend, it is really short,” continued the driver.
“Like in China, it’s a couple of laps that you build up, then you’re on the long run, then you’re immediately, on the soft, and before you know it, you’re into sprint quali.
“So just to get that bit of extra time will help with everything.”
As Lindblad looks ahead to Miami, and the rest of the season, he knows where it is he needs to improve.
“I think the biggest thing for me has just been, these cars are very different, especially on the power unit side,” Lindblad said to me.
“Obviously there’s a much bigger electrical component, than there has been in previous years, and just being able to maximize that in qualifying, still understanding the loopholes to extract more. But then again in the race, to be able to maximize it, to go as fast as possible, but more so, in battling,” continued the VCARB driver. “When to overtake, that you don’t just get passed immediately back. When you’re battling to use it in the right way. Overtaking or defending, using all the tools, the boost, all this kind of stuff. I think just really getting on top of that is an area that I’m working on, I’m sure everyone is as well, because that’s the biggest change, but I think that’s the biggest area of improvement that can come.”
Yet while he works on that improvement, he is definitely looking forward to his first race in Miami.
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend. It’s my first time here in Miami. I’ve heard a lot about the event, that it’s just an amazing weekend, so I’m really looking forward to that,” said Lindblad.
“I mean, even small stuff that our paddock is in the NFL stadium is, pretty nuts to think about.”
It has been a season of firsts for young Arvid Lindblad, including points in his first F1 race.
Now we’ll get to see how he fares in his first Miami Grand Prix.
