Arvid Lindblad makes Racing Bulls pledge after internal discussions

Arvid Lindblad has confirmed that Racing Bulls held internal discussions after his collision with team-mate Liam Lawson at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and says he knows what he needs to change in future.

The incident occurred at the restart on lap 36 in Baku, when Lindblad locked up heading into Turn 1 and speared into Lawson, spinning the New Zealander around and leaving his car with heavy floor damage.

The contact came as part of a chain-reaction braking event triggered further up the field by Franco Colapinto's collision with Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris.

FIA stewards took no further action, classifying it as a typical restart incident given the concertina effect through the field.

Lindblad went on to recover and finish seventh, pipping Esteban Ocon's Haas by just 0.030s at the chequered flag.

However, Lawson, who had been running in a points-paying position, was left scathing in the immediate aftermath.

"I need to watch it. We were all coming into Turn 1 on the restart, and I just got smoked from my left. It put a hole in my floor as well. I don't really know what gap he was looking for in the middle of both of us going into Turn 1; I just don't understand it," he said at the time. "Obviously great points for the team, but it sucks for our race."

Lindblad did not wait long to address the matter, apologising to Lawson in the media pen immediately after the race, in front of the assembled TV cameras.

Lindblad makes solemn vow

The Baku weekend had already proven difficult for the British rookie before the race, with an FP2 crash at Turn 9 forcing him onto an older-specification front wing and restricting his running ahead of qualifying.

It marked the second consecutive round — and street circuit — at which Lindblad had crashed, having suffered a similar incident in the second free practice session at the Madring, too.

Team principal Alan Permane has previously said he would "read the Riot Act" to his driver if they came to blows, having experienced a few near-misses between the pair already this season.

Asked about the collision ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Lindblad confirmed the matter had been addressed internally at Racing Bulls.

"Yeah, we discussed it internally, obviously, what happened, and I know what I do differently in future," Lindblad told media, including RacingNews365.

"I've apologised [to Liam and the team] already, and yeah, it's done now," he added before reiterating his initial comments: "I know what I'll do differently in future. We've discussed it, so just looking forward to Malaysia now."