Racing Bulls recall 'nightmare' in Arvid Lindblad protection plan

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has recalled how the outfit handled Isack Hadjar’s Australian Grand Prix "nightmare" last year, in its plan to protect and support Arvid Lindblad.

At just 18 years old, Lindblad finds himself on the 2026 Formula 1 grid after a successful promotion from Formula 2, with the young Briton set to partner Liam Lawson.

Red Bull has put significant time and effort into Lindblad’s rapid progression, having only moved into single-seater racing in 2022, with his first full-time single-seater campaign coming a year later.

Much is expected of Lindblad, who is the only rookie on the grid this year. He has taken the spot of Hadjar, who finds himself alongside Max Verstappen for his second F1 campaign following a tremendous rookie season.

Hadjar’s rookie year started in the worst way possible, after crashing on the formation lap in Melbourne, putting Racing Bulls on the spot to offer him immediate support and protection.

He went on to make huge strides, with Permane recognising that Lindblad will need looking after to a certain degree, especially when things go wrong.

Asked how much the team needs to protect and support Lindblad, Permane told talkSPORT: "Yeah, we need to be there for him. We need to be there to put our arm around him if and when things go wrong.

"We will be there to support him and to make sure that nothing gets on top of him or destroys him too much.

"We saw it with Isack last year, in the first race in Melbourne. It was a nightmare for him, but we also saw that with some support and care, and building him back up, two races later he had one of the races of his life in Japan.

"So I think these guys are strong — these kids. They’re not normal 18-year-olds. You know, they’ve come through junior formulas, karting, and that sort of thing, and they know what they’re doing. So no, we’ll be there to look after him."