Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls): “It was fun for a while...”

On the racetrack, he puts his foot down at speeds of well over 300 km/h, competing against the best and fastest in the world. Yet on ordinary roads, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad isn’t even allowed to drive yet! The Englishman doesn’t have a driving licence just yet. But that’s set to change now.

During the break between the Silverstone and Spa races this weekend, the London-born driver was at the cricket match between England and India, where he paid a visit to his colleagues at Sky. Lindblad is, of course, very familiar with the broadcaster from his time in Formula 1. He revealed that he is taking driving lessons and has even passed the theory test.

Full throttle in F1 – a passenger on the road

Although the Briton is already 18 years old, he will turn 19 in a few days (on 8 August). But he doesn’t yet have a road driving licence. Whilst this may seem odd for a Formula 1 driver, it’s not at all unusual – often the youngsters are so preoccupied with their motorsport careers and the necessary ‘licences’ required for that (Formula 1 requires a so-called Super Licence, for which you collect points in training and junior series) that road cars take a back seat for the time being.

Speaking during his appearance on Sky’s ‘Cricket’ programme, Lindblad said: “It’s a bit sad that I don’t have a driving licence. It was funny for a while, but now it’s starting to get a bit silly. So I’m working on it.” And he revealed – this was on Tuesday: “I had my first driving lesson yesterday. I really need to get this sorted.”

In his professional life, not having a driving licence isn’t such a big issue: Lindblad is allowed to drive on the world’s racetracks anyway. Different rules apply here. And teams and drivers are usually driven to the circuit anyway and aren’t behind the wheel themselves. But Lindblad has now been struck by the ambition to finally get his road driving licence.

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Read more

TV program

Live

Spa: FP1

FIA Formula One World Championship

17.07.2026 - 13:15

On the sporting front: things are currently going really well for Lindblad and his Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s junior team. Lindblad is 11th in the World Championship standings with 20 points, whilst his more experienced team-mate Liam Lawson is 10th with 39 points. Lindblad finished 7th at Silverstone in his home Grand Prix, equalling his previous best F1 result from Monaco and picking up further valuable points. His team is in 6th place in the standings.