Rising Red Bull star leaves 'nervous' manager in awe after Mexico performance

Reigning Formula E world champion Oliver Rowland who is also Arvid Lindblad's manager and mentor, has revealed how impressed he was in the driver's recent F1 first practice performance in Mexico City. 

Lindblad has been widely reported as a likely Racing Bulls driver next season, with Red Bull having put the young driver through an intense programme in preparation. 

Several TPC tests (Testing of Previous Cars) have been conducted by Lindblad, who has also made first practice appearances for Red Bull 

His most recent was in Mexico City, where he replaced four-time world champion Oliver Rowland. Lindblad excelled and ended the session in sixth, one-tenth quicker than Yuki Tsunoda.

A "nervous" Rowland watched the session from Valencia due to being in Spain for Formula E pre-season testing, and was amazed by how impressive his protégé was. 

Asked for his thoughts on Lindblad's performance, Rowland told RacingNews365 during an interview: "I think he did a great job. It's not an easy task jumping in Max's car, being instructed that you under no circumstances, can damage the car on a tricky track like Mexico, with low grip and a high track evolution. 

"But I think he did a mega job. He always impresses me in those situations where I felt I was watching the session in Valencia and I felt tense and nervous, and he just seemed to take it in a stride and get on with it, which is a great thing. 

"And yeah, to draw comparisons isn't fair on anybody, and I wouldn't do that. So, yeah, I think he did a great job, and we just need to get focused on him developing."

Lindblad's thoughts

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a venue traditionally used by teams to field rookie drivers, as was the case in the recent event – Stake F1 was the only outfit not to field a rookie. 

While it is a popular destination for rookies to make an appearance, it is also a very challenging one due to how dusty the circuit always is at the start of a grand prix.

Unsurprisingly, Lindblad felt he could have done better in some areas, but that the 18-year-old was largely pleased with how he performed.

Discussing what Lindblad thought of the Mexico session, Rowland explained: "It's tricky. I have spoken to him about the session and about other things since, I think he was happy with how he did.

"I think he felt like he could have done some stuff better, which is always his way of thinking, which is great, because he's always looking to be better.

"To say he's made progress, he's not driven it much. So I don't really want to say anything on his behalf, but I think he did a really solid, mature job. And I hope the team appreciate that."