Interview
Arvid Lindblad says his rise to Formula 2 with Campos Racing is “pretty cool” given his journey from karting two years ago, as his preparations ahead of a challenging 2025 campaign begin.
The Red Bull Junior Team prospect had a great rookie season in Formula 3, winning four races – including the double at Silverstone – on his way to finishing fourth in the Drivers' Championship.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Lindblad would step up to F2 with Campos next year, with and the Briton joined the team throughout the Baku weekend, looking to learn as much as possible.
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“I'm super excited, it is pretty cool to me,” said Lindblad. “Two years ago, I was racing in the karting world championships, so the rate at which I have been able to come through in the last two years, is a testament to Red Bull, to PREMA, the team I was in for the last two years, and everyone around me who has helped and supported me on this journey.
“I'm super excited but it's going to be a really big challenge, it's a tall order, even bigger than F3, but I think I've got a great team around me with Campos, with Red Bull, and I am really excited we can have another strong year again.
“I'm not saying we are going to have a lot of wins and break the win percentage, but I think we can have a really good year. The team are doing a really good job, I was in Baku, which obviously wasn't their strongest weekend, but seeing how the team works, from the engineering side, it’s really high level, I was very impressed.
“You have seen from the results this season, Isack Hadjar has led for the majority of the Championship, I think he has taken the most Feature Race wins, the car and the team are performing really well which fills me with confidence for next year.”
Lindblad continued to talk about his Baku weekend, revealing that he spent a lot of time listening to the feedback given by drivers Hadjar and Josep María Martí, as well as the team, with the Briton keen to learn the “small details” of the car as quickly as possible.
However, a lot of his time was spent getting to know the people he will be working with, and he says he already feels at home.
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“It's obviously a bit of a different dynamic to PREMA,” acknowledged Lindblad. “It's a Spanish team not Italian but they are a really strong team, a strong force, competing in so many junior formulas.
“My first experience with the team was in Baku, meeting everyone, seeing how the team work, I was very impressed on the engineering side, it was very high level. Similar to PREMA, I felt very welcomed, and appreciated at the team, there was a little bit of a family atmosphere.
“I could feel them taking me under their wing, trying to help and support me which I really liked, and that filled me with confidence for next year that we can have a strong working relationship, and we can push each other and extract the maximum performance from each other.”
What was also important for Lindblad was to start thinking with an “F2 mindset” given he has not driven a race car since the F3 season finale in Monza. This means learning about the tyres, the carbon brakes, the driving style and much more.
To help with that, he plans on spending plenty of time in the simulator getting to grips with his new machinery, and also in the gym, preparing for his first time in the car at the post-season test in December.
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“Definitely training and sim are probably the two biggest things that I'll be doing,” he revealed. “The demands of F2 are a bit higher so I will be training a lot in preparation for that.
“Then sim wise, I need to be trying to replicate as much as I can, driving the car, working on my technique and style, and also keeping that driver mindset, keep thinking about racing, so definitely training and sim are things I'll be doing a lot.
“Also just trying to get myself ready for the first test in Abu Dhabi, really try to utilise that, learn as much as I can, before also going to the pre-season test. So, I’ll really try to utilise them and also from now try to prepare myself to be in the best position when we do get to testing.”