Arvid Lindblad believes Racing Bulls maximized its potential at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP despite missing out on P8 due to an unfortunate Virtual Safety Car (VSC) timing.
After qualifying eighth and showing strong pace, Lindblad’s race-defining moment came on Lap 16, when the rookie pitted just moments before a VSC. The VSC allowed midfield rival Gabriel Bortoleto to pit and rejoin ahead of Lindblad, gaining crucial track position and ultimately taking P8, while Lindblad finished P9.
“It’s been a strong weekend”: Lindblad on his 2026 F1 Belgian GP
Reflecting on his 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Lindblad noted that while P9 brings Racing Bulls valuable points, he feels frustrated to lose out on a higher position.
“Yeah, for sure it’s a little bit annoying, because I think in a normal race we would have been quite comfortable P8. But at the same time, you know, fair play to Audi and to Gabi, you know, they rolled the dice and they capitalised on the VSC. And I think, you know, looking at ourselves, it’s been a strong weekend, we’ve maximised in every session. So, very happy with my job and everyone on my side of the garage.”
Lindblad arrived at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps with an upgraded VCARB 03 package. While the package was not expected to deliver its full potential at Spa, Lindblad showed promising performance, outperforming teammate Liam Lawson, who finished P12 and is waiting to receive his upgrades in Budapest.
Asked about how well the upgrades worked, Lindblad briefly shared: “Yeah, it’s good. I mean, it wasn’t very powerful here, because me and Liam had very similar cars. But I think in Budapest it’s going to be more, it should be more of a step. So, I’m confident for that.”
Lindblad on his battles with Lawson
Beyond his unlucky VSC incident, Lindblad also endured two close wheel-to-wheel moments with Lawson. The Racing Bulls’ teammates’ first battle came on Lap 1 when they went wheel-to-wheel at Les Combes, narrowly avoiding George Russell’s accident. Later, after the pit stop phase, the two briefly came together again before Lindblad used his fresher tyres to stay ahead.
Speaking about the opening lap battle, Lindblad explained that a small mistake with his boost deployment left him vulnerable.
“Yeah, again, the deployment wasn’t amazing. Even though I pressed the boost, I pressed it about 50 metres too late. And that was the, yeah, that was why he was so close to me. And then, yeah, it was a bit annoying, we both broke late. But then I, obviously, were coming pretty quick at the McLaren and I had to, I couldn’t commit fully, because I would have run into the back of Oscar [Piastri].”
He continued: “So, Liam got me there. I tried it again in Turn 7, but I wasn’t able to. And then I just waited a couple of laps, tried to manage my tyres a little bit. And then I knew as soon as he lost the group in front and I had the overtake, I’d have one shot. And I made sure to use it properly, unlike Silverstone.”
Racing Bulls vs. Audi at Spa-Francorchamps
Although Alpine remains Racing Bulls’ main midfield rival as the two teams are now tied on points, Audi emerged as Racing Bulls’ closest rival at Spa. After a tough start to their season, Audi currently sits P9 in the Teams’ Standings, 51 points behind Racing Bulls. However, the team has recently taken a step forward, with Bortoleto finishing just behind the Racing Bulls at Silverstone before now beating them at Spa.
When asked about how tough it was to remain behind Bortoleto from the VSC to the chequered flag, Lindblad said:
“Well, in the end, they’re fast, the Audi’s. You know, they’re faster than us in the corners. We’re very aware of that. They have a little bit of a better car. We’re a bit more competitive on the straights. I think we’re less draggy. And overall, in quali, we’re able to be faster than them. And in the race, we’re very similar pace.”
“And you saw that today, we’re both flat out for 25 laps. And I slowly came towards him, but it wasn’t easy,” he noted, as he ultimately finished 1.2s behind Bortoleto. “And we’re very aware. You’ve seen it in the past few races. They’re fast in the race. I wouldn’t say they were better than us today. I think, in the end, them having the free air after the VSC really helped us out.”
Lindblad on how the upgrades “worked reasonably well” at Spa
Further speaking about his upgrades and how he expects them to work better in Budapest compared to Spa, Lindblad briefly began: “I don’t know. You’ll have to talk to Alan. I don’t know aero. I was just told it should be a bit faster there.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was that much better than previous weekends,” he continued, assessing how the upgrades worked at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP.“I mean, in Silverstone, I think I was 2 or 3 strengths. I think I was 3 tenths from Oscar. Now I was a tenth and a half from Oscar. So, yeah, it was a bit of a step.
“But you can see from… I mean, Liam had [a] very similar [package] to me. We almost had the same thing. And he struggled a bit more. So, I wouldn’t say the upgrade was massive here. I would say it still worked reasonably well. But we were aware that it wouldn’t be massive here. And it should be more in Budapest.”
From Q3 to points finishes
So far in his rookie F1 campaign, Lindblad has entered six Q3 sessions. Having recently scored points from top-ten grid positions in Austria, Silverstone, and now Spa, the 18-year-old shared how Racing Bulls’ car is capable of consistently reaching Q3 and scoring points, crediting the team’s development.
“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t say I got used to it,” he began, explaining how he is not yet used to making Q3. “But I would say that I’m really trying to utilise the pace that we have. You know, the team have done a fantastic job to bring performance to the car. And we have a car that is, at the moment, capable of being in Q3 and the points every weekend.”
He added: “You know, if Gabi didn’t capitalise on the VSC, we would have been ahead, the first of the midfield pretty comfortably. So, I wouldn’t say getting used to it. But that’s the reality of what our car is now. And on Saturdays, we’re really efficient on the straights. That we can even start to get close to the top teams. On Sunday, it’s a bit more of a reality check. That’s just where the car is. And that’s credit to the team.”
