Arvid Lindblad salvaged his weekend at the Qatar GP with a gritty run to fourth in the F2 Feature Race. From 17th on the grid, the Campos Racing driver committed to the opposite tyre plan, bolting on the hard compound and stretching his first stint. A Safety Car in the middle of the race brought him in for softs and released him in a net third place. From there he nursed fading grip, fended off heavy pressure and sealed a remarkable front-running finish.
Campos Racing gamble pays off as Lindblad nurses softs 18 laps to turn Safety Car risk into reward
Lindblad admitted the gamble had left him torn when the Safety Car appeared during the F2 Feature Race at the Qatar GP. The stop came earlier than planned, and he knew asking the soft compound to survive 18 laps would be a huge task. Even so, he trusted the call, leaned on a strong Campos Racing package and kept the tyres alive far longer than expected. The team had only earmarked much later in the race as their first real window, but running deep in the pack pushed them into a bold, reactive move. In the end, the risk paid off, with the late stint pace and track position vindicating the strategy.
“Yeah it was pretty good today. We rolled the dice on the alternative strategy and to be honest, when I saw the Safety Car, I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. 18 laps to go and to take the Soft tyres the whole way I knew would be a really big challenge. I did a good job, the car was good, and we were able to hang on really well. Still had decent pace at the end, so it played out really well.”
“It was pretty reactive. I think we said before the race that Lap 18 was the earliest we could box, and I think it was Lap 13/14 when it came out. There was the chance of a second Safety Car, but we were so far back, we took the gamble. It all worked out in the end which is nice.”
Lost a podium but gained momentum as Lindblad turns confusion into one of his strongest drives
At first, Lindblad felt disoriented, unsure of his true position in the F2 Feature Race ate the Qatar GP after the strategy shuffle. Once he realised he was effectively running third, his focus sharpened on staying there. He threw everything into keeping Alex Dunne behind, knowing track space was crucial to protect his tyres and rhythm. Late on, Dunne’s stronger pace told and the Irishman slipped ahead, costing Lindblad a podium. Even so, the Brit left Lusail satisfied, having closed out a challenging weekend with one of his strongest drives of the season.
“Initially I was a bit lost, I didn’t know where I was in the order. But when I saw I was net P3, I wanted to stay there. I tried the best I could with Alex [Dunne] to hold him up because I needed to in order to retain the clean air. It was a bit of a shame in the end. He had good pace at the end, and he was able to pip me. But it was a good race. Every weekend is different, but it was nice to finish this weekend well.”
