Arvid Lindblad recalls viral Lando Norris 'remember me' message

Arvid Lindblad has recalled his "funny little story" involving Lando Norris, with a message from the F1 rookie to the reigning world champion having gone viral five years ago.

In 2021, at Adria Karting Raceway in Italy, a video clip went viral of Lindblad walking up to Norris and shaking his hand before telling the McLaren driver, "Lando, I want you to remember me—I will see you in five years."

F1’s newest rookie was just 14 at the time and had yet to race a single-seater, but fast-forward five years and Lindblad is now preparing for his maiden campaign with Racing Bulls.

Supported by Red Bull, Lindblad has flown through the junior categories, not spending more than a full season in any series on his way to the pinnacle of motorsport.

Due to the timing of his promotion from Formula 2 to F1, the video of Lindblad and Norris has resurfaced.

Asked about how the moment came about, Lindblad told talkSPORT: "Well, Lando was the one who came to the track. He came to Adria—that was the track’s name—where there was a race going on.

"It was in Italy, and he was launching his [karting] chassis, so he came to the track. And yeah, I told him that I’d see him in five years.

"Yeah, it’s a funny little story, and it’s all sort of come back around now."

Lindblad's confidence

At just 18 years old, Lindblad is one of the youngest drivers to have reached F1, underlining the level of belief the Red Bull family has in the Briton.

Lindblad has tasted victory in every category he has competed in and holds the record as the youngest driver to win an F2 race—he was 17 years, eight months, and 11 days old when he secured the win in last year’s Jeddah Sprint race.

He has always believed that reaching F1 was possible and had the confidence to make the comment to Norris five years ago, despite having yet to race a single-seater.

Addressing the level of confidence and belief in his own ability to make the comment to Norris, Lindblad explained:  "Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I always had—I don't know if it was blind hope or what—but I always had a sense of belief that I could be in Formula 1 from the moment I started this journey at the age of five.

"I wanted to be in Formula 1, and I believed that I could. And yeah, I had that belief when I was five. I had that belief when I was 14, when I saw Lando that day, and I had that belief all the way through to today.

"So obviously, I'm very, very happy—very excited—by the fact that it's sort of come true and turned into a funny story. But yeah, I'm looking forward to starting the new journey now."