Arvid Lindblad left the 2026 F1 British GP with mixed emotions after finishing seventh in his first home race at Silverstone.
The Racing Bulls driver scored valuable points in a memorable race that ended behind the Safety Car after Max Verstappen crashed out late at Stowe. Charles Leclerc took victory for Ferrari, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton completing the podium. Lando Norris finished fourth, ahead of Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Lindblad.
Although Lindblad recognised the result as a strong one for the team, he felt his own race could have produced more after another deployment issue affected him on the opening lap. He had been ahead of his teammate but the Kiwi passed him on the Wellington straight when he was down on power.
“I think it’s a very good day for the team,” he said in the print media pen. “Honestly, I’m not entirely happy, you know, on my side of the garage because there was the problem again over the deployment on lap one, and I think if that hadn’t happened I would have been able to stay ahead of Liam [Lawson], but regardless it’s a very good day for the team.
“P7 in front of the home crowd is a result, I would say.”
Lindblad describes first home race as “very special”
Lindblad started inside the top 10 at Silverstone, lining up ninth before the 52-lap race. He eventually finished seventh, one place ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and two places ahead of Franco Colapinto, securing a strong points finish on home soil.
When asked to summarise his first home race, Lindblad pointed to the pre-race emotions rather than only the result.
“Very special.
“When the National Anthem was played before the race it was very cool. Also it’s the first time my brother was there on the grid with me. I gave him a hug before I got in the car.”
“That was very cool.”
The result gave Lindblad a memorable Silverstone finish, even if he felt the early deployment problem cost him the chance to stay ahead of Lawson.
Lindblad pushes hard after pit stop
Lindblad spent part of the race fighting around Lawson and Bortoleto as the midfield order shifted through the pit stops.
Hadjar had to overtake Bortoleto after stop dropped him behind the Brazilian, while Lindblad refused to make the fight easy when the Frenchman caught him a few laps later.
Asked how close he came to running ahead of his teammate after his own stop, Lindblad said he tried to attack rather than settle into position.
“I think it was reasonable,” he stated.
“I was about one and a half seconds behind him, maybe two, and then I pushed a lot in the beginning of the second stint because I wanted to try to get him. And we were both pushing pretty hard and I wasn’t quite able to and then I overheated the tyres, so I struggled a little bit for the rest of the stint.
“I would have rather tried and degged a bit than just sat there and accepted it.”
That approach summed up Lindblad’s mindset. He accepted the risk of higher tyre degradation because he wanted to stay in the fight rather than protect the stint passively.
Late Safety Car denies one-lap shootout
The race looked set for late drama after Verstappen spun out at Stowe with five laps remaining. Several drivers pitted for soft tyres, including Leclerc and Hamilton, while Russell stayed out and moved ahead of car #44 on track. However, the Safety Car did not return to the pit lane, and Leclerc won the race under neutralised conditions.
Lindblad admitted he felt slightly disappointed that the race did not restart, despite understanding why it helped his team protect its points.
“I was a little bit sad, just for the nature of the sport, the nature of the show.
“Everyone’s boxed for soft tyres, it’s a one-lap shootout, I think that’s incredibly exciting. Obviously for the team side it’s very good to secure the points because anything can happen when it’s a one-lap shootout, but it makes it quite fun.”
For the Briton, the late Safety Car removed a potentially exciting finish. For Racing Bulls, it secured a strong result after a chaotic race.
Lindblad still left Silverstone with points, a first F1 British GP memory, and proof that he could handle the pressure of racing in front of his home crowd.
