ARVID LINDBLAD believes Racing Bulls have good reason to head into Formula One’s summer break with confidence; despite admitting he was left frustrated by his own race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The British rookie finished 10th at the Hungaroring as Racing Bulls secured another double-points finish during the weekend, with teammate Liam Lawson taking eighth. The result lifted the team to fifth in the constructors’ championship after a strong run of recent performances.
Although pleased with the overall outcome, Lindblad felt his race could have produced more.
“I’m not really sure. Obviously, it’s a good day for the team. I’m very happy for them,” he said after the race. He praised the work done throughout the weekend, adding that the team had provided “a good car all weekend” and that “the pit stops again were really good”. He said the doublepoints finish and moving into fifth in the championship made it “a good way to go into the summer break”.
Lindblad’s own race unfolded differently. Racing Bulls opted for a one-stop strategy, although the 18-year-old had expected a two-stop race before the start because of the warm conditions.
“Before the race, I just felt it would be a two-stop race,” he explained, noting that high temperatures had made tyre performance more difficult. Even so, he defended the team’s decision.
“I completely understand the team’s point of view,” he said. “If the hard tyres had held up better, I would have looked like a hero in P8.” He added that from the team’s perspective, “it was the best we could do today” and insisted he had “no regrets” because the strategy could easily have worked.
While the result left him wanting more, Lindblad said his rookie season has given him plenty of encouragement. “It’s a nice start, and I think overall it has been a very strong first half of the year,” he said. He pointed to several strong performances, saying he had shown “what I can do”, but admitted there were still areas to improve.
“There’s no doubts in my mind about my good moments,” he said. “But I’m very aware there’s things I can do better. I’m not happy with it. It’s just a little bit frustrating.”
Despite the disappointment, Lindblad believes Racing Bulls are moving in the right direction. Looking at the team’s recent results, he said the aim is not simply to protect their position but to “keep pushing”. He described the recent run as “a huge confidence boost for everyone in the team”, especially after the difficult start to the season.
Formula One champion Lando Norris celebrated McLaren’s first victory of the season in Hungary last Sunday (26) while Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli extended his overall lead to 50 points after a day of damage limitation.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was runner-up, 15.080 seconds behind the Briton, with Antonelli third after a likely McLaren one-two evaporated when Oscar Piastri pulled over with a gearbox failure 14 laps from the end at the Hungaroring.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s closest title rival, finished a close fourth on track but dropped to fifth behind teammate Charles Leclerc after a five-second post-race penalty for speeding in the pitlane when he made a third stop under virtual safety car conditions.
