Keeping his pace steady, Arvid Lindblad showcased a great defence to claim the victory at the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Sprint Race. Despite Joshua Dürksen’s constant pressure, the Briton avoided any major mistakes around the Yas Marina Circuit as he led from lights out to the checkered flag.
Marking his third win of 2025, the 18-year-old’s first season in Formula 2 has him up into P6 in the standings. With one more Feature Race left, Lindblad heads into Sunday knowing he signed with Racing Bulls for next year. Nonetheless, the jump to F1 only reflects the true potential and skill of the young, competitive driver.
A difficult final Sprint
Success was not that easy to come by for Arvid Lindblad in the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Sprint Race. The Campos driver had to think about tyre management while holding off Dürksen’s attempts at stealing his lead. Admitting to a couple of mistakes throughout the 23-lap race, Lindblad went on to review his race in the post-sprint press conference attended by Pit Debrief:
“No, it wasn’t easy. I think we were really good the first half of the race, and then I didn’t manage everything perfectly. So I gave Joshua a bit of a sniff in the second half of the race. A few things to work on. But still, it was good enough to take the win.”
Judging the pace as the lead car, especially in a no-pit-stop race, can be tricky to get right. With the Virtual Safety Car restarts, pressure is on as the cars behind get an opportunity to pass. Yet, Lindblad tackled all of that with ease, pushing and managing constantly:
“Well, I mean, you want to manage as much as you can to a point where you don’t get past. And Joshua was pushing a lot in the first five laps. So I had to push a lot as well, otherwise I’d get past. So he was kind of my reference on how much I needed to do.”
Abu Dhabi and beyond
Coming into the F2 Abu Dhabi weekend as a confirmed F1 driver, Arvid Lindblad went on to show why in the Sprint Race. Taking advantage of the reverse grid, the Briton had a strong start, which morphed into a well-balanced pace until the final lap. Assessing his race weekend so far, the 18-year-old is holding out for the Feature Race:
“Yes, it’s been good. I mean, obviously, it was very nice that the news came out on Tuesday. Obviously, very excited for next year. Any other results have been good today. But obviously, it’s still a Saturday. So we’re looking forward to tomorrow because that’s where the real points are.
“Obviously, it’s nice to win today. It’s been a nice few days, for sure. Again, it’s still a Saturday. So I’m focused on tomorrow because that’s the proper race.”
Speaking briefly of his post-season plans, Lindblad was excited to share the news of his trip to India:
“I will be going to India again in a few weeks. Well, next week. I go end of next week to India, so I’ll be there. I’ll be going again.”
Season review
At the start of his first season in Formula 2, the Campos driver had a few expectations for his campaign. While his Sprint Race win at the F2 Abu Dhabi GP is a joyous moment, Lindblad confessed to a slight sense of disappointment over his 2025 results:
“Going into the year, I sort of set goals for myself. They weren’t really outcome goals, though. I didn’t say I want to finish here in the championship, whatever. Because it’s always very difficult to do beforehand. Also, in my circumstance, I came into this year having just done one year of F4, one year of F3. Three years ago, I was doing my last race in karting. I’ve come through the ranks very quickly.
Moreover, the British driver’s expectations were defined by the potential he knew he had. As a result, the few disheartening moments felt upsetting in accordance with Lindblad’s hopes:
“I didn’t really set such goals going into the year, but I knew what was possible. Obviously, the team did an amazing job with Isaac [Hadjar] last year. Reflecting back, I’m not entirely happy with how the year has gone. I think there has been a lot of good moments. But no, I’m not super happy with how it’s gone. Obviously, I’m very happy that I’ve got the opportunity next year. But no, I would have hoped it had gone a little bit better.”
What could have gone better
In direct relation to his previous answer, Arvid Lindblad’s assessment of his 2025 F2 season raised questions. While the Campos driver did not win the Drivers’ Championship, his campaign highlighted many growth opportunities. The Briton pointed out a pattern he noticed throughout his race weekends: being competitive for the Sprint, but lacking the pace in Feature Races.
Nevertheless, the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Sprint results showed more than just pure pace from Lindblad. In his reflections on the past, the 18-year-old underlined the key issues he noticed in 2025:
“The year was going really well up until Barcelona. We were faster out, but I was doing a few too many mistakes. There were some things out of our control. There was a really nice progression up to that point. Then, through the remainder of the European leg, we were just slow. We struggled for pace.
“There were mistakes on my side and then also a little bit on the team. But as a package, we weren’t competitive. There are still question marks we have on that. There are definitely things that I could have done better to help.
“But at the end of the day, I’m just not happy that we weren’t more competitive for more of the season. I feel like too many times, we’ve been competing on Saturday and not on Sunday.”
Heading into F1
The F2 Abu Dhabi GP Sprint victory was Arvid Lindblad’s first result after the news of his new F1 seat broke. Therefore, questions about taking this momentum into his rookie Formula 1 season next year emerged. In response, the Campos driver gave an honest answer, recognising his focus is on the F2 finale:
“I don’t really know what message it sends. I’m happy that I won the race today. No matter what happens tomorrow, it’ll be a good way to end the season. I think that’s the most important thing. I’m just looking forward to tomorrow now to try to make the weekend even better.”
While Lindblad claimed that P1 finish in lap 23 of the Sprint, he had Joshua Dürksen in his mirrors pushing to the limit in those last laps. The AIX driver ended up making a mistake that hindered his attack in the end. Looking back on those intense final moments, Lindblad recognised the need to focus on his own race, not on Dürksen’s.
“I could see that Joshua was good in the first part of the lap, especially sector two. I didn’t think sector one was particularly different. But, yeah, he was faster the whole race. And I had to focus on my bit and try to not make any mistakes.
“For sure, when I saw that he dropped back, it was pressure. I was focused on my own job. I was still working on things in the car. So I couldn’t really let off because I knew that if I did that, then he would be back.”
His final race in F2
With only Sunday’s Feature win left to secure after the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Sprint success, Arvid Lindblad spoke of a certain lack of stress knowing his racing future is secured. Furthermore, while pressure is still on, the F1 contract allows him to try to make the most of his final F2 race:
“Nice to be racing the last weekend and know what I’m going to do next year. It takes a bit of, I wouldn’t say pressure, but yes, stress just to have that all sorted. I’m going to just go enjoy the last weekend of F2.”
