F3 driver: 'Was having breakfast with dad, then Marko called'

Arvid Lindblad hopes to follow in Max Verstappen's footsteps at Red Bull Racing. The 16-year-old Brit is currently competing in Formula 3 and wants to be active in Formula 1 within two to three years. In an interview with the BBC, he talks about his ambitions and his first meeting with Helmut Marko.

Lindblad previously raced in Italian Formula 4 but will compete in the F3 championship in 2024. That is the same class in which Dutchman Laurens van Hoepen drives. Prema driver Lindblad currently occupies fifth place in the championship with 23 points.

"All I’m thinking about at the moment is Formula 1 and wanting to be a world champion," said the talented driver, who knows the chances of actually reaching the king class of motorsport are slim. “I’d say I have two or three years now to make it and that’s my window – if I don’t make it now I won’t get another opportunity in Formula 1.”

Marko approaches Lindblad

When Lindblad was 13 years old, he was approached by Helmut Marko for the first time. An agreement was reached to work together and since 2022 he has officially been a Red Bull junior, although he was also supported by the Austrians in 2021.

"I remember very vividly I was in the hotel having breakfast with my dad two weeks before the World Championship and his phone rang and it was [Red Bull team director] Dr [Helmut] Marko asking to have a sit-down. “And then we met him on the Sunday morning of the Portuguese Grand Prix, and he said he wanted me to join the [Red Bull junior] programme," Lindblad said. And so it happened.