Lindblad to practice at Silverstone, Marko reveals

Jun.25 (GMM)  Arvid Lindblad will make his Formula 1 weekend debut at Silverstone, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has confirmed, as the energy drink giant accelerates the teenager’s path to the top tier.

Lindblad, just 17 years old, was recently granted special dispensation by the FIA for a super license — a move that signals Red Bull’s intent to prepare him as soon as possible for an F1 role.

The Swedish-British Formula 2 driver completed a half-day test in a 2023 AlphaTauri car at Imola on Monday as part of his ramp-up.

“He spent half a day in the car on Monday in Italy to prepare,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung. “He’ll then be in the (current) car for Friday practice at Silverstone.

“He stands out for his mental strength and self-confidence. His Swedish-Indian mix is clearly very good for racing.”

Marko confirmed that Red Bull is intentionally fast-tracking Lindblad as part of its wider reserve driver strategy — not necessarily for a full-time 2025 seat, but as insurance in case of unforeseen issues.

“No, we’re preparing in case something really happens to Max Verstappen regarding his penalty points,” he said.

With current reserve Ayumu Iwasa racing in Japan and juggling scheduling conflicts, Red Bull needed more flexibility.

“Our other reserve driver, Ayumu Iwasa, has a schedule with his racing in Japan that clashes with Formula 1. We even had a deal with another (F1) team for some races — at one point, one reserve driver was scheduled for three teams.

“It’s not that easy to find someone who’s in top shape. That’s why Lindblad is in the car now.”

Marko also took the opportunity to defend the state of Red Bull’s junior program, highlighting the presence of Sebastian Montoya in F2 and other upcoming names.

“We have Juan Pablo Montoya’s son (Sebastian) in Formula 2 now,” he said. “We have a lot of talent in the pipeline, which is fun, yes. We’re constantly developing the program, true to the motto ‘We don’t buy stars, we make them’. But as you say, Formula 1 is currently a tough place, yes.”

The Austrian admitted that while the Racing Bulls car is relatively manageable, Red Bull’s RB20 remains difficult — with only Max Verstappen consistently able to extract top performance.

“We’ve been seeing the same tendencies in the car for two years now,” Marko explained. “It jumps over curbs, it understeers when turning, then it turns into oversteer. The working window is extremely narrow.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming races, Red Bull is hoping to regain its footing with new technical updates.

“We’re getting an update for Austria, which will then be further refined for Silverstone,” Marko said. “But if that doesn’t work, things will get difficult in the world championship. And it’s not as if things aren’t difficult enough already.”]]>