Dr Helmut Marko says so! In fact, the Red Bull Racing Chief Advisor has publicly stated that British FIA F3 driver, Arvid Lindblad will head to New Zealand this summer. They need him to get Super Licence Points to enable him to make the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
“We are doing a special programme for him, sending him to New Zealand in this Formula Regional championship and the goal is to win it so he can get the necessary Super Licence points,” said Marko on the Inside Line F1 Podcast. “He will turn 18 years old in August.”
If Linbald does appear on the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship grid, then this will be an exciting addition to the field. While we celebrate Kiwi driver Liam Lawson moving up to the Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team, Linbald is an exciting Red Bull Driver who is destined to join the F1 grid, and it sounds like Marko is in a hurry.
Upon signing as a Red Bull Junior Driver in 2021 after a successful start in kartsport, Linbald tackled the Italian F4 Championship competing in eight races over the 2022 season. He then went on to have a successful 2023 year, competing in the Formula 4 UAE Championship where he finished fifth. He raced in a full season of Italian F4 finishing third overall. Fourth overall in the Euro 4 Championship then saw him go on to win the Macau Formula 4 Race.
2024 saw him first finish 13th in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship before embarking on a full season of FIA Formula 3 with Prema Racing finishing fourth overall including being the ighest scoring rookie as well as taking four race wins.
It appears that Linbald is being fast-tracked through to F1 for the 2026 season. With major changes to chassis and engines, Red Bull (and RB Honda RBPT) will switch from Honda to Ford power so it would be unlikely that Yuki Tsunoda, who is supported by Honda, would carry on with the Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team (RB Honda RBPT) beyond 2025.
Changes to Appendix L of the International Sporting Code earlier this year saw the addition of a clause that states that, although the minimum age for a super licence is 18 years old, special dispensation may be granted for certain drivers who are 17 years old.
Red Bull stand to benefit from the change with Lindblad, as the changes to Appendix L means he could take part in a series of FP1 outings with the team in 2025 which would still require FIA approval under the discretion of the changes to the ISC.
2025 will see him move up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Campos Racing.
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