Lindblad makes his debut this weekend for Racing Bulls in Melbourne, with the young British driver "very happy" to stick to his self-imposed "timeline" on the way to Formula 1.

A video of a 14-year-old Lindblad went viral upon his announcement for F1 2026, where the youngster told McLaren's Lando Norris in 2021: "I want you to remember me, I will see you in five years."

As it turns out, however, it is Hamilton who Lindblad looked up to when discovering his passion for F1, as the Racing Bulls driver explained to Sky Sports.

"The story with Lando is quite funny. It's funny how it's come back around," Lindblad said.

"Being honest, Lando wasn’t really the one I looked up to, because Lewis was much more when I was sort of learning about my passion towards racing."

Lindblad, who is of Swedish and Indian heritage, explained his "nice" connection with Hamilton, whose own rookie year in F1 falls on the very same that the Red Bull junior was born.

"You know, when I was three, four, five, he was the one who was doing well. I felt a nice connection to him, the year I was born was his rookie year.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has spoken to Italian media about his poor Ferrari debut in 2025, opening up about the "uncomfortable questions" he asked himself following the campaign.

Nonetheless, Hamilton enters 2026 with more optimism, adding he believes Ferrari "has everything it takes to win" this year.