Mar.12 (GMM) Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie in this year’s Formula 1 field, scored points on his debut in Melbourne despite battling celiac disease as a teenager that stunted his growth for two years.
And yet Auto Motor und Sport rated him on a par with race winner George Russell after the 2026 season opener.
The 18-year-old Racing Bulls driver finished P8 at Albert Park, becoming the third-youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history. Only Max Verstappen, who achieved his best results for Red Bull’s junior team at 17, ranks higher in both that category and the list of youngest debutants.
Auto Motor und Sport gave Lindblad 9 out of 10 – matching Russell and Charles Leclerc – and opened its driver ratings with the headline: “A rookie is as good as winner Russell.”
Lindblad himself could barely believe it. “It was very exciting for me to race against these guys,” he said. “I grew up watching Lewis (Hamilton) on TV. He was one of the main reasons I fell in love with this sport.
“There were definitely some moments when I had to pinch myself.”
Hamilton, his idol, offered a word of caution alongside the praise. “He should enjoy it,” Hamilton said. “You’re thrown in at the deep end and it takes a while to get used to the circus here. There will be bad days too, but you shouldn’t take it too hard.”
That Lindblad reached Formula 1 at all is a remarkable story. Diagnosed with celiac disease – a chronic autoimmune disorder in which gluten triggers inflammation in the small intestine – at age 13, he lost two years of development to recovery.
The illness affected his growth entirely – he remains 1.73 metres tall, which is not a disadvantage in single seater racing. “Everything happens for a reason, right?” he smiled.
Lindblad also has dyslexia, which led him to choose mathematics and chemistry as his A-level subjects rather than pursue more reading-intensive courses.
Born west of London, Lindblad carries three flags on the back of his helmet. His father Stefan is Swedish and a lifelong motocross fan who introduced his son to motorsport at age 3. His mother Anita has Indian roots.
Lindblad joined the Red Bull programme at 13 – the same year as his celiac diagnosis – after attracting the attention of Dr Helmut Marko. He had already been mentored since age seven by Oliver Rowland, now Formula E champion with Nissan, who was present in the Racing Bulls garage in Melbourne.
“Without him, I wouldn’t be here today,” Lindblad said of Rowland.
His junior career was relentless – he won the Italian, European and Emirati F4 championships in 2023 along with the prestigious Macau race, before becoming the youngest winner in Formula 3 history in 2024 and the youngest winner in Formula 2 in 2025.
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