Arvid Lindblad: My Greatest Influences

Arvid Lindblad has made quite the impression in his brief time in Formula 3. The PREMA Racing driver has already won a race and is currently the highest placed rookie in the Drivers’ Standings.

So, we asked him to tell us about the people that have helped get him to this point, and he does not disappoint, giving a shoutout to his parents, mentor and a seven-time Formula 1 World Champion.

PARENTS

“I've been fortunate to have a lot of people surrounding me who have been very experienced and helped me a lot, so firstly I have to mention my parents. They've been with me since day one, especially my dad, he has always been there for me. We started this together when I was five and it's not so much the racing side but just being supportive of everything I am doing, when I make mistakes helping me feel good.

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“My dad has been really influential, my mother as well, but more my dad because he was the one who would always come with me on the race weekends and just make me feel comfortable and just helped me learn and grow a lot and helped me become who I have become today.

“He hasn't come to any of the races so far this year, he will start to come more in the second half of the year, so his first race will be Barcelona but he used to come with me to all the races in karting, a few last year in F4, and he will come to a few this year as well, especially the local ones.

“I think just the support of having your parents behind you, we all sacrifice a lot to be able to do this and just their belief in me and having that person that is always there for you no matter what and is happy helps you grow a lot. I'm extremely grateful and I don't think you can put that sort of gratitude into words.”

OLIVER ROWLAND

“I have known him since I was seven through the team I was racing in, so got to know him and then we sort of worked together, starting more seriously when I was nine and we set up a karting team together. We won the British Championship and when I was racing in Europe, he was a little bit less involved but would keep in contact every day.

“I'd come to a couple of races, last year during F4, the same and this year he is going to be even more involved, he is coming to most of the races he can, so that's really good. Obviously speaking more about the character of Ollie, everyone knows his talent and capabilities as a racing driver and to have someone like that with that level of experience who has gone and done it and I think more importantly done it very recently.

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“So, my first experience of the F3 paddock was in 2017 when he invited me to the Hungaroring, it was seven years ago when he was in a similar situation to where I am. So, to have someone with that knowledge and capability, helping to guide me has been instrumental to my transition from F4 to F3, because it is a massive step, and we will continue to work together and hopefully helping me through the steps to Formula 1.

“It's hard to pick out one piece of advice he has given me, but I'd say to help manage expectations. I think that's the biggest thing. We knew when this was going to happen, we weren't naive to know that the step was going to be difficult, and he helped a lot me to keep my feet on the ground and to know how difficult it's going to be.

“Also, me just watching it you don't get that awareness, so just teaching me the steps, what I am going to need to do and every weekend managing that expectation, I think from an advice point of view, you could say it has been very beneficial. But on top of that all the knowledge he brings, knowledge of the circuits, knowledge of the car, knowledge of the format, I can't put enough value on that.”

LEWIS HAMILTON

“Being English and from a mixed background since the beginning Lewis Hamilton was always my idol and who I looked up to on the track. I think from the beginning when I would watch the TV because he was English, and he was extremely talented from a young age I was always following him, and he was the driver I looked up to the most.

“He is from a mixed background like me, and it felt relatable and having that person to look up to who was winning races and Championships made me want to try and emulate that from a young age. I think having that figure there as someone to look up to, drove me to be better, to continue to work, to try and get to Formula 1. I haven't met him, but he gave me a thumbs up in a taxi in Melbourne, so that's the closest I've got.”