Inside a British F1 hopeful’s record-breaking journey to F2

It was a good season for me in FIA Formula 3. I went in knowing it was going to be really, really challenging, as F4 to F3 is a big jump, I only did one year of F4 in Italy, and then straight into F3 with Prema. I had to make sure that I was giving my absolute everything on all fronts.

It wasn’t even about winning in the beginning; it was just about trying to be in the top 10 and be competitive. We did a really good job over the winter, we prepared well, I worked hard, and I arrived in Bahrain and won my first race.

Winning on my debut was a special moment, and that filled me with a lot of confidence, especially after a difficult end to the 2023 season. It took a bit of weight off my shoulders, but I knew I still hadn’t really achieved anything, because, OK, I’d won on my debut, and I think I was the youngest ever F3 race winner [16 years, six months], but it was a sprint race. It wasn’t the proper feature race, so I knew that I still had to improve.

From that point on, there was so much development and learning every time I got in the car. I would say all the way from my first test at Jerez to Silverstone [in July], I was learning, and I was getting better. I broke quite a few records across the season: the youngest F3 race winner, winning the 100th race of the current era, tied for the most wins in a single season, and the highest F3 win percentage.

It was a very good year and I’m happy with how it went. It was a big challenge going in, and I dealt with it, and I was able to make it work. I’m very grateful to everyone at Red Bull, everyone at Prema, and all my support team who helped me, because it was a big challenge.

I worked a lot with Red Bull this year. The head of the Driver Academy at Red Bull Racing is Guillaume Rocquelin – ‘Rocky’, who was Sebastian Vettel’s race engineer when he won four world championships. He’s extremely experienced in motorsport, he knows what it takes to be a winner, and what characteristics you need. He taught me a lot on and off track, so I have to give a lot of thanks to him because, while everyone this year played a huge part, he was one of the most important people.

Victory on his F3 debut in Bahrain underlined why Lindblad is highly rated by Red Bull

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

To come in and have enough seat time to be competitive in the first place is not easy. You really have to learn as much as you can, every time you’re in the car. There are so many more factors you have to look into and so many different variables compared to F4.

I think F3 is unique, with 30 cars and the tyres arguably have the shortest lifespan. There were so many sessions this year where it was literally one lap, and it was pointless even doing a second, because they were gone. You try to maximise every opportunity to learn, and the preparation is super-important.

I am really happy to be part of the BRDC SuperStars programme. The whole of the British Racing Drivers’ Club is amazing. They have the SuperStars as part of it, which gives opportunities to us young drivers. It’s great to feed on that knowledge and expertise and learn from other people in the club who have achieved so much. There are many world champions across all disciplines, so it’s been a fantastic opportunity, and it’s helped me a lot this season being able to talk to them.

I’ve been in an Italian team since the end of 2019 in karting. It’ll be my first Spanish team, so I’m looking forward to a different culture and a different atmosphere

I really enjoyed my time at Prema Racing. I was very happy with the team and the environment, and I didn’t really want to leave. In the end, like all of us, I’m trying to get to Formula 1, and F2 and F3 are categories that you need to perform in. If you don’t, you won’t get that opportunity.

Red Bull have had a very good collaboration with Campos Racing this year and I’m excited to be working with them in F2 next year. They’re a really strong team and everything I’ve seen and everything they’re doing so far is impressive, and I think that’s being translated onto the race track. With Isack Hadjar, they’ve won the most feature races this season and he was fighting for the title, so I’m really looking forward to next year. I know I’m in a good place and I’ve got a really good team around me.

It’s going to be an interesting dynamic, because I’ve been in an Italian team since the end of 2019 in karting. It’ll be my first Spanish team, so I’m looking forward to a different culture and a different atmosphere, but in the end, from what I’ve seen so far, they’re really hungry to win, and that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what race, nationality or what gender you are.

I want to win, and I want to have that shared interest and passion with the people I work with – that’s what excites me most.

Can Lindblad go a step further and light up the timing sheets in F2 next year?

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool