Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad will be able to race in F1 as early as this season if he succeeds in claiming at least eight FIA super licence points in the 2025 Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
The 17-year-old, who will compete for Campos in F2 this year, is currently taking part in the New Zealand-based series, as he prepares to potentially step up to F1 in 2026 - which remains the most likely short-term timeline.
He leads the five-round championship by five points after the first event of five, in which he scored two podiums and a victory in the three races.
The season finale is scheduled for 9th February, at which stage any new super licence points Lindblad accumulates will be confirmed.
Already on at least 32 super licence points, following a calculation made by RacingNews365, he would need to finish just fourth to take him above the required threshold of 40 to race in F1.
That would allow him to immediately step up if needed and it would make the outcome of his debut season in F2 of significantly less consequence to his and Red Bull's plans, as he targets a race seat at Racing Bulls.
Graduating to F1 has long been the British-Swedish racer's aim, as he told Lando Norris in a now-viral clip from 2021.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls have yet to announce who will fulfil reserve duties for the teams during the 2025 F1 season.
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Lindblad: 'Results and performance will unlock' F1 opportunities
Having already achieved the requisite 25 super licence points to take part in an FP1 session, the FIA's decision last year to reduce the minimum age to drive in F1 to 17 years of age means Lindblad can complete a practice session prior to turning 18 in August.
RacingNews365 understands the request for that change came from Red Bull and not Mercedes or Williams, as initially believed.
Lindblad maintains he has not spoken to the Milton Keynes-based team over FP1 opportunities in 2025, but did not deny talks have taken place.
The F2 driver explained he does not have much involvement in discussions of that nature and that his focus remains on track.
"At the moment, I haven't really spoken too much about them [FP1 sessions]," he told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. "Maybe there are conversations, maybe there aren't - I'm not really involved.
"I don't like to be involved in that kind of stuff. I'm just focused on myself and performing well in the F2 this year, and even before that, the Oceania [Formula Regional] Championship."
Lindblad, who finished fourth in FIA F3 in 2024 and won the F4 Macau Grand Prix the previous year, insists that he is not allowing himself to be distracted by the noise around him or the opportunities that may be coming down the pipe.
"[I am] just focusing on myself and trying to do my job," he reiterated.
"At the end of the day that's the only thing I can affect, and my results and my performance are going to be the things that unlock those opportunities.
"So I'm much more staying in the present and focusing on myself and my performance, because that will bring those opportunities hopefully in the future."
(Note: Super licence points are not final for junior drivers until a team requests one from the FIA, at which point the governing body evaluates whether the driver in question has earned enough points.)
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look into the six full-time F1 rookies featuring on this year's grid. Who will do the best is discussed, as is who could face an early exit.
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