Arvid Lindblad presented a resilient recovery drive at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, concluding the double-points finish for the Racing Bulls F1 Team.
Starting from P11 on the grid, Lindblad crossed the finish line in tenth position but subsequently advanced to ninth place. This adjustment occurred after Franco Colapinto received a 10-second penalty for a yellow flag infringement, providing the Racing Bull driver with two points.
Lindblad on navigating the first stint at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
In the print media pen after the race, Lindblad explained that the groundwork for his race was built on an extended opening stint, which was not a particularly enjoyable phase of the Grand Prix for him.
Starting on the medium compound tyres, the team chose to prolong the stint to Lap 22, effectively being the last driver to perform the first pit stop of those still in the race.
The strategy left Lindblad on worn tyres during the mid-phase of the stint, leading to a noticeable loss of pace and then track position.
Lindblad argued that while the choice provided fresher hard tyres for the second and stint, with the second pit stop coming early on lap 37, the gap built early on forced him into a recovery drive rather than an active battle for higher track positions. In the end he lost out to both Alpines on the road.
”Yeah, it wasn’t the most fun that first stint, it was pretty long. We’ll have a look into what happened, where we lost the time, what we could have done better from a strategy side. I think we could have executed potentially things a bit better because I felt very fast in the second and third stint, but we were coming from so far back that it was really more of a catch up game than really being able to utilise that pace for positions.”
Despite those frustrations, Lindblad voiced that it had been a good weekend. He credited the team for providing a solid package and called it a big confidence booster, noting that they have been fast the past two weekends.
He added that this shows that they hopefully have a good car for the rest of the season.
“We’ll see what we could have done better but I think regardless, it’s been a good weekend. The team have given us a strong package, it’s a big confidence booster for us. You know, the last two weekends we’ve been fast but they’re very unique circuits, this is much more of an all-rounder.
“You know, to be fast here shows that we can have hopefully a good car for the rest of the season.”
Overcoming technical hurdles at Qualifying
While Lindblad expressed happiness with how the weekend went at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, he admitted it was annoying what happened during Saturday’s qualifying session.
He emphasised that without the deployment issue, he had no doubt he would have been in Q3, as he was ahead of his teammate Liam Lawson in both Q1 and the initial run in Q2 by a solid couple of tenths.
For him, Sunday might have been a little bit different without the setback, but for now the focus would remain on what they could improve and the team is looking forward to the next race in Austria.
”Yeah for sure, it’s a big confidence booster for the team on that side that they’re developing in a good way. I think for myself, you know, I’m happy with how the weekend’s been. You know, the reality was, it was annoying what happened yesterday but without that I have no doubt, I would have been in Q3.
“I was ahead of my teammate in both Q1 and the run in Q2 and maybe today would have been a little bit different. But regardless, you know, that’s done now, we’ll focus on what we could have done better. But just grateful to the team for all the work they’ve done, they’ve given us a strong car this weekend.
“So we’re looking forward to Red Bull Ring now.”
Regarding the long opening stint, Lindblad clarified that the initial plan was to extend the stint as much as possible to create a pace delta for the two final stints and based on when the rest of the field decided to pit, the team made the call to go even longer than originally scheduled.
However in retrospect he expressed uncertainty over whether it was the right decision due to the high levels of tyre degradation. He was only a few seconds ahead of Lawson and co. such was the time loss before he boxed.
”I think the plan was to try to go as long as we could. Yeah, it was trying to go as long as we could to try to have a bit of a pace delta for the last two stints. Based on when everyone pitted, we decided to go even longer than planned.
“Obviously it’s easy to say now in hindsight, I’m not sure that was the right decision.”
Finally, when asked if he received an answer regarding what triggered the qualifying issue, Lindblad confirmed that they knew what happened, that it had something to do with the PU system and that the team was already working on fixing it.
”Yeah, we know what happened. The team are working on a fix. Obviously it’s a bit of a shame.”
”It was a PU systems thing,” he clarified.
