Max reacts to claims that 'Lindblad' is the new Verstappen

Last Friday, Lindblad made his official Formula 1 debut in front of his home crowd, taking over Yuki Tsunoda's seat during FP1. He received a lot of praise after his free practice session, including from the driver beside him: Verstappen.

"I mean from my side, he raced for my best friends go-kart team, so I already had a bit of information on him and he's great," Verstappen told the media in Silverstone. The Red Bull driver had a lot of praise for the young Brit.

"He's very fast" Verstappen indicated that the Red Bull Junior driver shouldn't rush. "He just needs to do it step by step. You know, I think the way that Red Bull is preparing him is good. He just needs to do his thing", was the clear advice. 

Although Lindblad has yet to make his official race debut in F1, many already see him as the 'new Max Verstappen'. The real Verstappen himself had to laugh about this. "And being labelled as the next Max Verstappen, he should just be himself. That's I think what you need to focus on. I think that's also what he knows. He knows how to do that."

The four-time world champion emphasized that as far as that is concerned, things will probably go well with the young Brit. "He has good people around him, that are like a mentor to him. So, yeah, step by step. And I'm happy for him, he’s doing well. And let's see what happens when he eventually can get into F1", Verstappen concludes.