New Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad has already set his sights on Lewis Hamilton, claiming that he wants to beat his idol, even though he admires the Briton. The teenager explained that he was excited to race on the same grid as Hamilton in 2026 after being inspired by the veteran during his childhood.
After a solid year in F2 in 2025, Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad has been promoted to F1 and will be driving for the sister Racing Bulls team alongside Liam Lawson in 2026. He replaces Isack Hadjar, who, after completing a similar journey in 2025, is now set to partner Max Verstappen at the senior team.
A child prodigy, Lindblad has been in and around the F1 paddock since he was a young kid. He has also shared that his interest in the sport began at an early age, and Lewis Hamilton is his idol. Hamilton was the most dominant driver on the grid during his time with Mercedes from 2014 to 2020, the exact era Lindblad was watching the sport growing up.
Speaking recently, Lindblad has shared that while he is now excited to drive with Hamilton on the same grid, he still wants to beat the 41-year-old and will not be racing him any differently than any other driver. When asked if he was nervous to go up against Hamilton in 2026, he replied: [via formule1.nl]
“I haven’t really thought about that yet. It’s a really cool idea, in the sense that when I fell in love with the sport, Lewis was doing well and starting to win world championships with Mercedes. And now I’m going to share the track with him. That’s super cool, of course.”
“I mean, you still want to beat your idols. So I don’t think I’ll race him any other way. But it’s definitely cool to be able to share the track with him,” he added.
But Lewis Hamilton will be hoping that his Ferrari is not in battle too often with the Racing Bulls cars, as was sometimes the case in 2026. The Italian team had a tough outing, especially in the second half of the 2025 season, and finished in fourth in the constructors’ standings.
Hamilton’s first year with the Scuderia did not go as planned, as a difficult-to-drive SF-25 hindered what was already going to be a tough season as he attempted to settle into a new environment. 2026 is the final year of his current Ferrari contract, and his and the team’s performances could decide the future of the most successful driver in F1 history.
Arvid Lindblad explains he felt a “great bond” with Lewis Hamilton while watching him
Arvid Lindblad has shared that he felt “a great bond” with Lewis Hamilton while watching him as a kid, as he was the only driver of color on the F1 grid then. He also added that Lewis Hamilton debuted in F1 the same year he was born and that he was the most successful driver when he started becoming interested in the sport.
While Lindblad was born in England and holds British nationality, he is of Swedish and Indian heritage through his parents. As a result, he has said he felt a strong connection with Hamilton growing up, seeing him as a fellow driver of color competing at the highest level.
“Lewis played a big role in my early interest in the sport. I felt a great bond with him because he was the only driver with a different skin color. He debuted in the year I was born. He performed very well when I became interested in the sport,” Lindblad said at Racing Bull’s launch event.
Lindblad is now set to become the youngest driver on the F1 grid in 2026, a title previously held by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The youngster will be only 18 years and 7 months old when he makes his F1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix, making him the fourth youngest F1 driver ever.
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