Why Red Bull are fast-tracking their 'biggest talent' to be ready for F1

Helmut Marko has already called Lindblad the Red Bull Junior Team's greatest talent. Strange, of course, when you just promoted one of your other talents to Racing Bulls and also graduated another talent to Red Bull Racing to become Max Verstappen's teammate. However, whereas Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson had to twist themselves to force an F1 debut, with Lindblad, Red Bull seem to be doing everything in their hands to make that debut happen as soon as possible.

Still, it is not surprising that Marko is so fond of the young Briton. In karting, Lindblad already won everything there was to win, after which he also managed to win in formula cars. In 2023, the Briton 'only' finished third in the prestigious Italian Formula 4 championship, but Lindblad did that at the age of 16. Indeed, only towards the end of season did the youngster turn that age.

Why Red Bull like Lindblad so much

At 16, Red Bull promoted Lindblad directly to Formula 3. Lindblad was the youngest driver in this class by far. There were only two drivers who were seventeen, however, Nikola Tsolov and Callum Voisin, finished eleventh and twelfth in the championship respectively, and had much more trouble to be at the front in this competitive class.

Not so much trouble for Lindblad. In fact, Lindblad managed to win the first race, a sprint race in Bahrain. In Spain, Lindblad then also won his first feature race, before impressing by taking both sprint and feature race victories at Silverstone. After the British round, a championship also seemed to be on the cards, but a combination of bad luck and mistakes eventually left Lindblad stranded in fourth place in the standings.

At Red Bull, however, they glance through the latest results. They are bumps on a road that is going uphill very fast so far. The Red Bull Junior Team, led by Helmut Marko, are therefore choosing to speed up the process. Lindblad will be sent to New Zealand over the winter, mainly to score points for his super licence.

In the Formula 4 championship, where 18 points are available, Lindblad needs to earn himself enough to reach 40 super licence points. With that, he will be able to compete in Formula 1. Lindblad already possesses the required 25 points to drive in free practice sessions in F1.

Why Red Bull need Lindblad now

Indeed, this aforementioned rush shows Red Bull's ambition. By being able to put him in an F1 car now, he can be measured for a possible seat in 2026. Yuki Tsunoda's contract expires at Red Bull and it would not be crazy if he wants or needs to leave at the end of 2025. Possibly, only a promotion to Red Bull Racing could keep him within the family for longer, otherwise it is over and the Japanese driver is out.

After all, it is no secret that Tsunoda owes his long tenure at Red Bull to his partnership with Honda. Honda have been supporting Tsunoda for much longer and brought him into the picture at Red Bull. The partnership between Honda and Red Bull expires at the end of 2025, at which point it is likely that driver and team will also part ways.

Besides a possible departure of Tsunoda, Red Bull also have to wait and see how Isack Hadjar performs in F1. He will get his chance at Racing Bulls, but he will have to perform. The same goes for Lawson, who has a great test ahead of him at Red Bull Racing. So for Red Bull, it can't hurt to have a talent ready to jump in.

So, to prepare for a possible departure, Red Bull seem to be fast-track the process with Lindblad. This is currently happening in New Zealand, after which Lindblad's eyes will be set on the start of the F2 season. There again, as a 17-year-old, he will be the youngest driver on the grid, but also possibly the driver with the most realistic chance of getting a seat in F1 for 2026.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi

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