With a great Sprint Race under his belt at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad made history by being the youngest ever F2 race winner. The 17-year-old driver finished P2 in the race but was quickly promoted to P1 after Richard Verschoor’s 5-second penalty.
Good weekend ahead
An incredible record such as this one meant a lot to Lindblad. Despite not thinking about this possibility beforehand, the car was very competitive on the Jeddah Corniche racetrack. During a post-sprint press conference attended by Pit Debrief, the British driver briefly mentioned his unfortunate results in the first two rounds of the season. Nevertheless, Arvid admitted he paid more attention to a good overall performance:
“Yeah, it means a lot. I mean, to be honest, I hadn’t even really thought about the record.
“I knew I was quite young. I think I’m the youngest ever F2 driver.
“ So yeah, I don’t know. I mean, the first couple of rounds haven’t been amazing. So I was just focused on trying to have a good weekend here, do a good FP, good quali. And so far things have gone well. And then the race today was, yeah, it was really good”.
During the last laps of the Sprint, Lindblad’s engineer told him about the penalty received by the Dutch driver ahead. However, he knew that was his chance to overtake Verschoor and win before crossing the finish line:
“I got a good start and then was quite competitive in the early laps and was chasing down Richard. Unfortunately, he got a penalty. So not the way I want to win, but super happy with the result. And really happy to break another record.
“So during that safety car period, my engineer told me that Richard had a penalty. So yeah, then I knew that just sort of if I stayed in second, I would have won the race. I still wanted to try and win on track. But, he was just a bit faster in the last couple of laps.”
First time racing in Jeddah
After his great result in the F2 Sprint, Arvid Lindblad admitted to being confident for the rest of the Saudi Arabian GP. Not only was this win proof that the Campos car is still competitive, but it also showed the British driver that he could be a championship contender. The win motivated both him and the team. Yet, Lindblad thinks there is some pressure from Verschoor:
“Obviously, it gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow because a good result today shows that the car is competitive. We already knew that from FP and quali. But again, just reinforcing that. I still think we have a little bit of work to do for tomorrow because Richard was really strong.
“But yeah, it gives me a lot of confidence. And then also for the rest of the championship, just yeah, sort of starting off properly here after two difficult weekends. Yeah, just happy to sort of firstly was to be in the top 10 in quali and then just yeah, now to get some good points on the board and look to start from here.“
When asked about his preparation for a new circuit, especially one as difficult as the Jeddah Corniche, Lindblad mentioned the extra work he had to put in. While the team had him prep just the same, he took on the track on the simulator. Even so, nothing could compare to the experience of actually being in the car:
“This is the first time coming here for me, first sort of new track of the season. So yeah, definitely did a bit of extra prep at home. With the team, it was sort of similar to what we do for every race. But yeah, definitely tried to put in a little bit more time at home before this one.
“But I think on a track like this, I think with any street circuit, but particularly Jeddah, because it’s such high speed and so unique, I think the sim’s useful, but probably slightly less useful than for most of the tracks, because it’s just so insane. And it’s just through track learning on tracks or through FP and quali that makes the biggest difference.”
Reflecting on Campos’s performance
The team did a fantastic job last year, especially. Still, the first two races of the season started quite rough for Arvid Lindblad. He pointed out that the car itself had been competitive from the beginning. Some external problems with himself and with Campos made it seem different. Moreover, Lindblad mentioned the focus this time was on getting “the basics” right.
“I think the car has been competitive in all the weekends so far, just through some stuff on my side, some stuff on the team, external factors. We haven’t been able to put it all on the board and show what we can do. So I think this week, the goal was just to do the basics right. We knew it would be competitive.
“So I think in general, the car’s baseline is fast. We saw that last year with Isack fighting for the championship. I think it is good on almost all circuits. So I don’t think there’s anything in particular here that was different to others, but just doing the basics right.”
Since the Jeddah Corniche circuit might not be part of the F2 calendar next year, Lindblad spoke out about his love for the Saudi Arabian GP track:
“I don’t think there’s anyone that’s not loved this circuit. For me, I love street circuits and I love high speeds, so sort of combining the two is my dream. I’ve really enjoyed driving around here. I remember watching it on the TV at home for the first time in 2021. And yeah, I loved it from that moment.
“And to have the opportunity to drive here has been amazing. For sure, it will be a shame to lose it in the future. But yeah, very happy to have the opportunity to drive here and looking forward to hopefully coming again next year.”
Adapting and the learning process
With the limited testing time in F2, Lindblad reflected on the Bahrain test and whether it helped the team. He talked about how this time frame did not give them much to work with. Campos Racing had great pace both last year, and they kept being fast so far this season. While the opportunity Bahrain gave them was welcomed, it did not inform them of anything new:
“I think the Bahrain test has been useful for us as much as anyone. I mean, in F2 and F3, there’s very limited sort of testing time. Also, due to the nature of the weekend format, you can’t really test anything on the car. So I think for everyone, yeah, testing is useful.
“I don’t think Bahrain was anything special. I mean, we saw last year with Pepe that the Campos is really good in Bahrain with him having a double podium. And again, him being very competitive last week and also myself coming through the field. But yeah, even in Melbourne, we were fast.
“So yeah, I think the test was good, but I don’t think it’s really changed anything, also considering last year Isack fighting for the championship.”
Arvid Lindblad is the only F2 rookie who has won in Jeddah at the Saudi Arabian GP after Piastri’s win in 2021. The British driver also has a really fast climb through the racing series. With all the changes, he managed to keep acquiring wins and podiums. When asked about all the new tracks he had to learn, Lindblad showcased his unique experience:
“Obviously, I’m super delighted to be the first driver [rookie] since Oscar to win here in Jeddah. He’s shown himself to be pretty good.
“Sort of on a learning track side, I’m still quite young and sort of inexperienced, so I feel like every year I’m learning new tracks. So on that side, I don’t think there was anything really new. Like I said, I’m used to learning new tracks and not much time to deal with it. And I think here, because it’s only F2 and F1, there’s many rookies who are learning it during FP.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I think we just sort of cracked on and dealt with it. We don’t really have much time. So yeah, a lot of preparation in the sim and with the team, and then just sort of sending it when you have to.”
Throughout both years and series, Turn 1 has been famous for the incredible battles and overtakes. Answering a question asked by Pit Debrief, the Campos driver shared some insights on what makes that corner so challenging. Lindblad’s first F2 Saudi Arabian GP experience provided great racing opportunities:
“I think T1 is obviously a very good corner for racing because you’re basically coming off a triple DRS zone. So it’s all pretty tight going into there. And then because it’s sort of a chicane nature, it makes it good for racing because you’re kind of inside in one and outside in the other. So you need to be smart with where you go.
“I think if you’re on the attack, there’s not really one place to go. I mean, yeah, like I said, you’re on the inside for one of the corners. So I think you need to just be very committed with what you’re doing, whether you’re attacking or defending. But definitely great racing. And I think that’s mainly due to the fact of the DRS zones all being together.”
