Latest / Rusty's Garage / The Motorsport Brief - Arvid Lindblad: F1’s next big thing?

Transcript

The Motorsport Brief - Arvid Lindblad: F1’s next big thing? · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  To be a driver for Red Bull is a massive honour, one that also comes with huge pressure.
• 0:10
  You're about to meet someone who is potentially their next F1 star.
• 0:16
  Hello, welcome to the shortcast.
• 0:19
  I recorded this one at the bottom of the world.
• 0:22
  Not quite.
• 0:22
  I was in Invercargill at the southern tip of New Zealand for the next-gen NZ Championship.
• 0:27
  It has been a good summer with this series.
• 0:30
  If I went a couple of thousand k's further south, I'd be in Antarctica.
• 0:35
  Anyway, there is a young racer here who's been blowing them away before he heads back to race in Formula 2 this year.
• 0:42
  And he may just have enough points when he leaves here to qualify for a super licence.
• 0:47
  Maybe he will end up a reserve driver.
• 0:50
  for Formula One this year.
• 0:52
  It seems very likely that he'll be in a reserve role.
• 0:55
  Before we launch into it, quick plug for the three-part feature ep that dropped in the past 10 days or so with the super sub Roberto Moreno.
• 1:02
  The Brazilian tells some ripper stories in a very infectious manner.
• 1:06
  His smile beams through the mic and so does his never-give-up attitude.
• 1:12
  How a cup of tea and milk chocolate digestive biscuits led to a drive with Benetton in F1.
• 1:18
  The technical and development input that he had on Ferrari's game-changing semi-automatic gearbox in the late 80s.
• 1:25
  Plus his memories of winning the Australian Grand Prix against his great mate Nelson Piquet, Alan Jones, Nicky Lauda and more.
• 1:34
  Betting on horses with Kenny Smith to get to the next race in New Zealand in F1.
• 1:39
  Indy car, there's some great stories in there.
• 1:41
  Three hours worth, fire it up on the way to work, pick it up again when you're around the house or on a run, wherever, maybe in the gym, enjoy.
• 1:49
  We also caught up with Dakar winner Daniel Sanders in last week's Motorsport Brief, how some Aussie ingenuity that he pushed for helped significantly in this year's race and his win, and the immense pressure that he felt in a downsized KTM squad as the manufacturer tackles its financial issues.
• 2:09
  Let's get into this.
• 2:10
  We sat outside at Terratonga Park in Invercargill during testing for what we used to call the Toyota Racing Series.
• 2:20
  Hey, it's great to get you on the podcast.
• 2:22
  I'd love to peel it back a little bit and understand where the passion, the love for motor racing actually comes from for you.
• 2:28
  And am I right, is Wikipedia accurate?
• 2:31
  Did you get a motorcycle or something when you were very young and did it perhaps start that way?
• 2:35
  Yeah, so my paternal grandfather is an avid motorsport fan.
• 2:40
  He'll watch anything with engines and a wheel.
• 2:44
  So the sort of passion really started from him.
• 2:48
  When my dad, when he was in his teenage years, he did motocross for a year or two.
• 2:54
  Unfortunately, though, they didn't really have much money.
• 2:57
  Obviously, motorsport is quite an expensive sport.
• 3:00
  So that sort of fizzled out.
• 3:02
  Yeah.
• 3:03
  quite quickly, but that sort of passion was passed on to my dad.
• 3:06
  And then you were right, yes, when I was three, he bought me my first motocross bike.
• 3:11
  And, yeah, we went to the dirt track a few times, and, yeah, I was going around.
• 3:16
  But my mum...
• 3:18
  Wasn't a huge fan.
• 3:19
  It was a bit too much for her.
• 3:20
  And, um, yeah, that, that sort of died out quite quick.
• 3:23
  Um, but then when I was five, I went karting for the first time and, uh, just fell in love with the sport.
• 3:29
  I love it.
• 3:29
  So did it come easily to you or, or did it just click kind of straight away?
• 3:34
  I don't know.
• 3:35
  I just kind of, I don't know.
• 3:36
  You're probably better off asking my dad.
• 3:38
  I don't know.
• 3:38
  I just, I enjoyed it from the beginning and it was, it was fun.
• 3:42
  It was just me and my dad sort of going around in our little van and doing stuff together and,
• 3:48
  He was always very focused on me having driver coaches to really focus on the driving and improving myself.
• 3:54
  And it wasn't about having the best engine and all that kind of thing.
• 3:57
  When I was very young, there was a big focus on driving and always trying to improve, which I think was the right approach.
• 4:03
  But yeah, I don't know.
• 4:05
  I think I was decent from the beginning, but I don't think, I don't know.
• 4:09
  I think I was quite decent from the beginning.
• 4:11
  I felt very comfortable early on and I always enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of the speed.
• 4:16
  There was some guidance, I think, there too, from Oliver Rowland, was there not?
• 4:19
  I mean, he's, you know, been with Williams, Formula 2, Formula E and so on.
• 4:25
  How much has he sort of... Did he take you under his wing a little bit?
• 4:29
  How much did he help?
• 4:30
  Yeah, Oli's been a massive part of my career.
• 4:33
  I'm working...
• 4:34
  I'm still very close with him, you know, now today.
• 4:35
  He's still very involved.
• 4:37
  I first met him when I was seven, sort of through the team that I was racing in called Zip.
• 4:42
  They had a bit of a relationship with...
• 4:45
  sort of a group well a foundation well um i don't yeah i don't know what you call it but it's uh rsf is what it was called this racing steps foundation which was um basically a not really a charity but some like kind of a foundation um to help on british racing drivers with a lot of talent they didn't really have the have the financial support um and
• 5:08
  And they had a link, and my dad, like I said, was very focused on driver coaches, so he asked the boss if any of the drivers have a weekend off and they want a bit of extra pocket money or anything like that.
• 5:20
  If they could come and do a day with me, it would mean the world to us.
• 5:23
  And Ollie, at the time, he was struggling a bit for money, so he was very up for it.
• 5:30
  Yeah, that's sort of how the relationship started.
• 5:33
  Sort of once every six months we do a test day.
• 5:36
  And then...
• 5:40
  When I was, you know, so about a year, year and a half later, we came into a bit of difficulties with sort of the team we were in and we didn't really know what to do.
• 5:47
  Because there was another team we didn't really want to go to and my dad just sort of asked Ollie for a bit of advice and help and he said he'd come to one of the race weekends and sort of have a watch and help me out.
• 5:59
  And after the weekend, he called up my dad and said, you know, they had a chat and said obviously he wasn't very happy with how the team was running things and it wasn't good.
• 6:06
  And he suggested sort of starting a karting team around me
• 6:11
  And, yeah, that's really how it started.
• 6:13
  The whole of the first year, it was just me, my mechanic, Ollie, in a sprinter van, a little pop-up tent.
• 6:19
  And, yeah, we were going racing.
• 6:21
  And the first year, I was vice British champion to Taylor Barnard, who's now racing in Formula E.
• 6:28
  And then the year after, I won the British Championship and LGM as well.
• 6:31
  And the team grew a lot.
• 6:33
  And, yeah, it turned out to be very successful.
• 6:34
  So that's kind of how it started.
• 6:36
  And from that, well, from when I was seven, but that still carried through to today.
• 6:41
  When I was in Europe, obviously, he wasn't able to...
• 6:44
  He didn't have a karting team, but he would come to sort of races when he could.
• 6:48
  He was always very involved.
• 6:49
  Every day I was on track, I'd be messaging him about how things are going.
• 6:53
  I was the same in F4, and last year in F3, he was very involved coming to most of the races, just over half the races, all the testing as well to really help me develop.
• 7:03
  It was a big step going from F4 to F3, so he really helped a lot, also with the way that
• 7:09
  the F4 kind of ended.
• 7:11
  We weren't very happy, sort of as a family, and we didn't like how things were, so sort of as a team with my family and my trainer and Oli, we really thought we needed to step things up, and we came up with a better plan for F3 that worked really well, and we're going to carry that forward to next year in F2, and yeah, I get along really well with Oli, and I hope to be working with him for the rest of my career.
• 7:33
  What a great story.
• 7:34
  I could see the way you lit up there.
• 7:36
  I love that.
• 7:36
  Somewhere here, 2021, you become a part of the Red Bull Junior program, right?
• 7:40
  So I don't know how old you are at this point, 13, 14.
• 7:44
  Take me to that moment and what was it like getting the call up or how did that all come to be?
• 7:49
  Yeah, it was all pretty wild.
• 7:50
  I mean, to be honest, I was 13 at the time.
• 7:52
  I didn't really...
• 7:53
  I knew obviously about the Rebel program and all this and that, but I was young.
• 7:57
  I didn't really think too much of it.
• 7:59
  I thought it was great, you know, to have the opportunity to be on the program, but I was just excited and enjoying racing.
• 8:04
  I remember, I think there was a bit of stuff going on in the background for, for quite a few months.
• 8:10
  Um,
• 8:11
  Yeah, between sort of Oli and my dad and Red Bull.
• 8:15
  I just remember being in Portimao testing for the World Championship at the end of 2020.
• 8:19
  And I was at breakfast with my dad and his phone was on the table and I saw it rang and under the number it said Graz Austria.
• 8:27
  And I didn't really think too much of it.
• 8:29
  But then I saw he sort of picked up the phone and walked off with a bit of a sort of skipping his step.
• 8:34
  And yeah, he came back and then said, Dr. Marco wanted to meet me to discuss joining the Red Bull program.
• 8:40
  And I was like, awesome.
• 8:42
  You know, obviously, so the drivers have come through the program, most notably sort of Seb, Max, Daniel, have gone on to be world champions.
• 8:49
  I was really excited.
• 8:51
  And then I met him on the Sunday morning of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
• 8:55
  And yeah, he said, you know, he wanted me to join the program and it kind of started from there.
• 8:59
  And yeah, I'm extremely grateful to Red Bull, obviously.
• 9:01
  Like you said, I joined with them sort of 2021.
• 9:05
  So two years in karting, two years in cars.
• 9:06
  I really rose through the ranks sort of together with them.
• 9:10
  And yeah, they're a huge part of my career.
• 9:13
  And I'm very grateful and looking forward to hopefully driving in their car and F1 in the future.
• 9:18
  That leads me to just your kind of maturity at your age, right?
• 9:22
  Like you seem ahead of your years, very, very driven, very focused.
• 9:26
  Have you always been like that?
• 9:27
  Some people, I mean, I can imagine if I rewound the clock, what I perhaps would have been like at age 17, I'd be quite nervous getting a phone call from Dr. Marco.
• 9:36
  But you, you know, this is clearly what you want to do and undaunted by that.
• 9:43
  Yeah, I don't know.
• 9:44
  Since when I started this journey when I was five, I had a goal of being in Formula One and being a world champion.
• 9:49
  And I don't know, I think a lot of this stuff I kind of take in my stride and it's also part of the journey.
• 9:56
  A lot of people, I think they sort of get...
• 9:59
  you know, more nervous and they feel more pressure with all these kind of things.
• 10:02
  But for me, you know, I want to be in Formula One and Red Bull, I'm on their program because they believe in me.
• 10:07
  They, you know, they believe that I can be with them in Formula One.
• 10:11
  That's the point of the program.
• 10:13
  And that sort of fills me with confidence.
• 10:16
  And then in the end, it's we're both of the same goals.
• 10:18
  You know, I want to be a world champion in Formula One.
• 10:19
  They want to win more championships in Formula One.
• 10:21
  So I don't feel any pressure.
• 10:23
  I sort of take it in my stride and just enjoy the moment.
• 10:25
  How close is that?
• 10:26
  You are here as a part of this program.
• 10:28
  I think perhaps Dr Marco even said, look, you know, Liam's done it and others have done it.
• 10:33
  Come to New Zealand, it'll give you potentially, if you, you know, do a good job here, you'll walk away with enough points for the super licence.
• 10:40
  You could actually leave New Zealand perhaps with enough, could you not, for an F1 licence for this year?
• 10:45
  Yeah, I mean, it's not the...
• 10:48
  the best it's obviously not the nicest reasoning to hear of why i've come here but it's it's the main reason i mean i was talking with dr marco in abadabi and um yeah that that's the main reasoning to have the full license before the start of the f1 season and and yeah could we see you maybe with the racing bulls is that is that possible and in a reserve role or is that is that thinking too far ahead
• 11:08
  I don't know.
• 11:10
  I don't really know 100% the plan, to be honest.
• 11:11
  I don't really ask.
• 11:13
  You're best off to try and get Dr. Marco on the line to see what the plan is.
• 11:17
  I'm just very focused on myself and getting in the car and driving fast and doing the job.
• 11:23
  That's the thing that's going to give me the best opportunity, the best chance to get one of those opportunities.
• 11:29
  So, yeah, I'm just enjoying the moment, really focused on doing well here now, hopefully getting the points and then the F2 season, making sure that goes really well.
• 11:38
  because yeah like I said that's the thing that's going to give me the best chance of being Formula 1 in Formula 1 in the future a couple of questions in that regard firstly have you enjoyed CT frock um you know the supercars champion Will Brown's been a part of it we know that Brock Feeney's going to join us next week for the Grand Prix at Highlands and I think you guys know each other do you and Brock know each other a little bit either through Red Bull or karting or something um so yeah I mean first answer your first question I've really enjoyed the championship so far um
• 12:03
  It's been amazing.
• 12:04
  I think it's really well run.
• 12:05
  Full credit to Toyota.
• 12:06
  I think they do an amazing job to make sure everything's really fair and well run.
• 12:10
  And then, yeah, I think it's just a really good championship.
• 12:13
  I honestly think it's a shame that there's not more guys that come here because I think it's a great experience and it's really well done.
• 12:21
  And then, yeah...
• 12:23
  I know Brock a little bit, only because I met him when I was at the APC with Red Bull.
• 12:28
  We were there together.
• 12:29
  We sort of bumped into each other.
• 12:31
  So that's the only reason I know him.
• 12:32
  But yeah, I think it's going to be amazing to race with him and him and Will in Highlands next week.
• 12:37
  And really excited.
• 12:39
  A break now on Rusty's Garage.
• 12:40
  More with the Red Bull junior, Arvid Lindblad, in just a few moments.
• 12:47
  You're listening to our Garage Shortcast with a young racer who is on the verge of breaking into Formula One.
• 12:52
  And there's a good support network for Arvid Lindblad as he climbs.
• 12:57
  But the rapid ascent is largely due to his speed and this unwavering commitment.
• 13:03
  I wish I had that same focus at his age.
• 13:05
  Let's get back to the chat now.
• 13:09
  F2 with Campos this year.
• 13:10
  You and I will be at the Australian Grand Prix in a few weeks' time.
• 13:13
  I work there as well, so I'll get to catch up with you there.
• 13:15
  How much of a step is that from F3 last year, and what is the build-up like in terms of getting set for Formula 2 this year?
• 13:22
  Yeah, it's definitely a big step.
• 13:25
  I mean, on paper, it's not as big as the one from F4 to F3, just on a pure lap time point of view, but obviously the level's higher, the cars are harder to drive, they're faster, so it's going to be very challenging.
• 13:38
  I need to be 110% on my game to make sure that I'm doing well and performing because I'm still very inexperienced.
• 13:49
  This is now my third year of cars.
• 13:51
  I'm just 17, and the guys I'll be racing against are in their 20s.
• 13:56
  So, yeah, it won't be easy, but that's what makes it fun and exciting as well because it's an opportunity to showcase my talent and ability.
• 14:05
  It's awesome.
• 14:06
  Glad you bring up about the length of time in cars.
• 14:08
  Last week for our coverage in Manfield, you drive the Super GR for our television coverage, doing the hot lap and explaining that for the audience.
• 14:16
  I thought you did a super job, right?
• 14:18
  I learned later in the press conference, you don't have your road driver's licence yet.
• 14:22
  That's something you've got to sort when you get back to the UK.
• 14:24
  Is that right?
• 14:25
  Yeah, yeah.
• 14:26
  I've been very busy over the last few months, so I haven't been able to get my license yet.
• 14:31
  It's quite ironic.
• 14:32
  I've already driven an F1 in the showrun in Houston.
• 14:35
  I've driven F2, even driven now the Supra as well, and I haven't even got my road license.
• 14:40
  So doing things in a bit of a different order to most, but yeah, I'm enjoying my life a lot at the moment.
• 14:46
  Good on you.
• 14:47
  A couple to finish here.
• 14:48
  You mentioned about driving in the showcase stuff.
• 14:52
  I know it's a tool for the job and that you want to ultimately get there, but kids have got posters on the walls.
• 14:56
  No doubt you did too.
• 14:57
  When you got to drive, even if it's an older generation F1 car, what was that like?
• 15:02
  Did it give you kind of a massive buzz to sort of be a part of it?
• 15:06
  Yeah, it was amazing.
• 15:07
  I mean, I love driving it.
• 15:09
  Honestly, if I was to do a show run in any car, I would have chosen the one I did it in.
• 15:13
  Obviously, I think it was the RB8 it was called.
• 15:15
  The V8 sound is...
• 15:17
  There's nothing like that now at the moment in motorsport, so that was just surreal to hear.
• 15:24
  And then also even more than that, I think this is the car that won the World Championship in 2012, and...
• 15:32
  One of Seb's cars.
• 15:33
  Yeah, it was one of Seb's cars.
• 15:34
  But that was also the car that was winning the World Championships that I was watching on the sofa when I was four or five when I fell in love with the sport.
• 15:43
  So to get the opportunity to then drive that was even more special.
• 15:47
  So yeah, it was a really incredible experience.
• 15:51
  mega.
• 15:52
  Two years ago, my youngest daughter Stella comes to me and goes, Dad, have you heard of Arvid Lindblad?
• 15:56
  So she and I have been following you ever since.
• 15:59
  This separate story, a nine-year-old kid comes to Topor a couple of weeks ago, and he doesn't just want to meet Liam Lawson.
• 16:05
  He wants to meet Arvid Lindblad too.
• 16:08
  This whole drive to survive effect is going just beyond Formula One.
• 16:12
  Now people are following F2, F3 and
• 16:16
  Are you aware of that sort of reaction to what you're doing?
• 16:19
  I know it's not your focus necessarily, but there is massive interest in what you're doing and where you're going here.
• 16:26
  Yeah, I mean, I'm not too, I don't read into it too much.
• 16:30
  Obviously, I think it's amazing for the sport that there is that sort of coverage and awareness, you know, for the fans.
• 16:36
  And I give, yeah, full credit to, I don't know who, but maybe Netflix and F1 and whoever's pushing the marketing.
• 16:44
  Because I think, yeah, like I said, I think it's amazing for the sport that there is more awareness for the fans, you know, about F2 and F3.
• 16:50
  I think it's.
• 16:51
  Even just to focus on F2 and F3, I think that's grown massively in the last sort of five, ten years.
• 16:57
  And, yeah, full credit to them because it's all about bringing the sport closer to the fans, and I think they're doing an amazing job of that.
• 17:03
  I'd like to wrap up with a nice little moment that you and I talked about at the very beginning of this series for the coverage.
• 17:08
  We relived a YouTube clip from a few years back where you said to Lando Norris, I'll see you on the grid in five years' time.
• 17:15
  And I love that mix of confidence and aspiration.
• 17:20
  You're nearly there.
• 17:21
  You're nearly there.
• 17:24
  Yeah, that was four years ago now.
• 17:25
  I'm only one step away, so I am focused on sticking to my timeline.
• 17:32
  I can do it.
• 17:33
  I've been a very driven boy since when I started this journey, since when I was five.
• 17:39
  I had that passion when I was five.
• 17:41
  I had that same sort of passion when I said that to Lando.
• 17:44
  I think I was 13, 14, and I still do today.
• 17:46
  Yeah.
• 17:48
  Things are going really well at the moment.
• 17:49
  I need to sort of stay grounded, stay focused.
• 17:52
  But yeah, I'm really excited with what the future sort of has for me.
• 17:58
  And I'm just really focused on making sure I'm doing my job, keep working hard because yeah, hopefully I will be sticking to my timeline and seeing him in 2026.
• 18:06
  You are making all the right moves.
• 18:08
  Thank you for talking to us.
• 18:09
  I look forward to a part two at some stage when you're in Formula One.
• 18:12
  Go get him.
• 18:13
  Thank you very much.
• 18:15
  Over the years, I've come to really admire the single-minded focus that good athletes have.
• 18:20
  There are times when you look at them and think, well, that's a little bit selfish or that seems a little arrogant.
• 18:26
  But in the brutally unforgiving world of motorsport, F1 especially, you have to be like that, right?
• 18:33
  You need...
• 18:34
  a bit of it in your makeup, or you just won't survive, let alone succeed.
• 18:39
  And I absolutely don't think it makes them bad people, right?
• 18:44
  Nor do I have any less respect for them.
• 18:46
  In fact, that's quite the opposite.
• 18:48
  We hope that 2025 is a great year for Arvid.
• 18:51
  Keep an eye on him.
• 18:52
  That is it for today.
• 18:53
  I'm off to the New Zealand Grand Prix next week, hoping to catch up with Brock Feeney while I'm there.
• 18:58
  And we're also set to record a feature ep with the voice of the Toyota Series, a voice that you will know well from motorcycle racing over the years, Jonathan Green, and how he once fell off a wharf into Auckland Harbour while on camera, while doing TV duties.
• 19:14
  It is very funny.
• 19:15
  Keep an eye out for notifications on that.
• 19:17
  Bye for now.