Arvid Lindblad qualified an excellent P9 for Racing Bulls at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, continuing his fine weekend in Montréal.
In all six qualifying segments through the Sprint and Grand Prix ones, he has been the fastest driver in a midfield car. In fact, he looked to be threatening to outpace the Red Bull duo (Friday) and Charles Leclerc (Saturday) at times. Ultimately, he had to settle for P9 in both of them.
Nonetheless, he was 0.417s faster than Franco Colapinto in Q3 on Saturday afternoon to confirm his dominance over a single lap.
Lindblad very pleased with 2026 F1 Canadian GP performance
Having taken the one point available to the midfield runners because of car issues for Isack Hadjar during the Sprint, Arvid Lindblad has absolutely maximised his 2026 F1 Canadian GP weekend so far.
P8 in FP1, P5 in SQ1, P7 in SQ2, P9 in SQ3, P7 in Q1, P9 in Q2, and P9 in Q3 has been a remarkable show of speed and consistency for his first time racing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
While he was thrilled with how the weekend has gone so far, the 18-year-old admitted a bit of disappointment not to do even better considering his positions in earlier segments. The top four teams eventually had too much pace in Q3 as Charles Leclerc improved significantly.
“Yeah, it’s been good this weekend.
“I mean, I was told before the weekend this could arguably be one of the hardest races so far this year because it is a very challenging track and it is a sprint weekend.
“But the team have done a really good job to give me a car that I’ve been comfortable in. I think I’ve done a good job getting up to speed and figuring things out without always chipping away.
“So yeah, I’m happy with how the weekend has gone so far.
“Part of me was a little bit disappointed because I was hearing P5, P6, P7 during Q1 and Q2, so to end up P9 was a little bit sad. But at the same time, I think it was inevitable when the top teams figured everything out.
“I think it was the best that was possible, best of the rest. Looking forward to tomorrow now.”
High praise for the turnaround by Racing Bulls F1 squad
Having confirmed they would be bringing upgrades to Canada, Racing Bulls faced a big test as Miami was a disaster. A complete lack of pace left them as the ninth fastest team in round 4.
However, it has been a brilliant showing so far in Montréal. Fifth fastest in both qualifying sessions, plus holding off Colapinto in the Sprint, proves the package is significantly better this weekend at least.
Although he was surprised by it, Lindblad had nothing but praise for his team.
“A solid step. I was quite surprised, to be honest.
“We had an upgrade for Miami. It wasn’t as good as we hoped. In the end, we were out in Q1, we weren’t that competitive.
“I was slightly more on the pessimistic side coming into this weekend, but full credit to the team. They’ve done a phenomenal job from the first lap in FP1. I felt really comfortable and we’ve been fast.
“Every lap that I’ve done this weekend has been quick. The team have done a phenomenal job to bounce back from Miami.”
Arvid Lindblad on potential wet conditions in the 2026 Canadian GP
Last month, Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls completed tyre testing at Suzuka in wet conditions. Lindblad did crash his Racing Bulls on the Wednesday in very difficult conditions.
All 22 drivers have never started a race in these conditions with these extremely complex Power Units, hence some worries and concerns going into it.
“I think for sure that day that I did in Suzuka will be handy tomorrow if it’s wet.
“In the end, there’s so many unknowns. There’s so many things that are going to be out of our control that could just happen.
“I think the most important thing is to be open-minded and figure things out on the flight, because there’s going to be a lot going on tomorrow.”
Pushed on whether the Power Unit does strange things in wet conditions, Lindblad’s response was short but telling.
“It wasn’t the best experience in Suzuka.”
