Lindblad responds to Red Bull ‘big dogs’ praise

Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad is not allowing the public praise he has received from Helmut Marko and Christian Horner to go to his head.

The 17-year-old will embark on his debut F2 campaign this year and has designs on racing in F1, a target that comments from the two Red Bull stalwarts suggest is in the pipeline.

Speaking on the Inside Line F1 podcast, Marko singled out Lindblad as the next "really promising" driver coming through the ranks in Milton Keynes after stating the goal was not to find "a new Max [Verstappen]", but rather "a new champion" for Red Bull.

Meanwhile, Horner name-dropped Lindblad on numerous occasions last past year, appearing to shoehorn him into conversations about Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson amid the team deciding on its 2025 driver line-ups.

However, the British-Swedish driver, who races under the British flag, maintains glowing remarks from the bosses in Milton Keynes is not something he spends much time ruminating over.

In his view, words of praise, even publicly, will not get him to F1 alone. He must continue delivering on track.

"It's great to be having my results and performances appreciated and noticed by Dr Marko and Christian because they're very important for my career," he told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.

"They're very much the big dogs in Red Bull Racing. Me performing well, and them being happy, is paramount for my future.

"But, to be honest, it's not really something I think about. At the end of the day, it's all kind of noise. If you think about it too much, it can very easily go to your head.

"Them saying that stuff is good, and it shows that they're happy with me right now, but things can change very quickly, as we know in motorsport, and them saying that now, that alone is not going to put me into Formula 1."

Lindblad: Horner and Marko praise 'doesn't add any pressure to me'

It would be forgivable if the attention paid by Horner and Marko added pressure to the shoulders of Lindblad, but the Campos Racing driver insists that is not the case.

The former F4 Macau Grand Prix winner, who is currently competing in New Zealand in pursuit of an FIA super licence, is adamant the pressure is already there, borne from his own expectations and goals.

"I'm very focused on myself and performing every time I get in the car, because that's what I enjoy," he added.

"I love driving these cars, and having the opportunity to drive in F2 this year is something I'm really excited about. I'm just focused on doing well there.

"Things hopefully will fall into place. From a pressure point of view, it doesn't really add much pressure for me - I'm really hungry to win. I want to win.

"I'd say all the pressure I feel is from myself, because I have that hunger, that passion and that expectation from myself.

"So, honestly, them saying that doesn't really make a difference. I've always seen it as, from a junior team point of view, that they have faith in me. That's why I'm on the programme.

"They think I'm doing a good job, that's why they're saying these things in the press.

"They want drivers in Formula 1. They want good drivers. I want to be in Formula 1. From that point of view, our goals and passion are aligned, so it doesn't add any pressure to me."