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F3 Lindblad

F3: Lindblad admits inexperience but also ‘confidence’ after Sprint win in Bahrain

Arvid Lindblad, the youngest F3 driver on the grid, began his debut weekend with success in the Sprint Race

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Arvid Lindblad took victory in the F3 Sprint Race after starting fourth and has share how he feels racing in Formula 3.

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Arvid Lindblad, Laurens Van Hoepen and Leonardo Fornaroli on the podium of the F3 Sprint Race in Bahrain. (Credit: X @Formula3)

Motorsport is back with the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend well underway. For Formula 3, there are 17 rookies joining experienced drivers for the 2024 season and it was a rookie taking the first victory.

The F3 Sprint Race saw a lot of action with the yellow flags being brought out a couple of times, but the focus was very much on the front of the pack. Laurens Van Hoepen began the Sprint on pole after qualifying 12th yesterday.

It was a battle between Van Hoepen and his ART teammate, Nikola Tsolov, for the lead but Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad soon joined the fight.

Lindblad joins Formula 3 after winning the Macau F4 World Cup last year and his rookie season has gotten off to a great start. After the Sprint Race, he spoke to media, including FormulaNerds, about his performance today and settling into Formula 3.

Inexperienced but confident

In the post-race press conference, Lindblad expressed how happy he was to win on his F3 debut. The British driver said:

“Yeah, definitely like you say, a really good result. Really happy to win on debut. I’m quite inexperienced compared to those around me, so I knew going into this year it was going to be really challenging, but we started off on the right foot so hopefully we can try and continue like this.”

Lindblad continued, speaking about his target for the Feature Race tomorrow. He said:

“Obviously, the race tomorrow will be more difficult starting from P9. But today’s race was really positive, so for sure, gives me hope for tomorrow. We’ll see what happens.

“I know that it’ll be a lot more difficult tomorrow. I’ve got all the really strong guys ahead of me so we’ll see what happens, but definitely more optimistic for tomorrow.”

The PREMA driver also spoke about how whilst he’s inexperienced in the championship, today’s result gives him confidence. Lindblad told FormulaNerds:

“Today’s victory gives me a lot of confidence. It’s challenging; the level [in F3] is really high and I’m quite inexperienced, so like you say it’s not easy. But I feel like I’ve settled in quite well.

“PREMA have been super supportive and helped me a lot with my transition so far. I feel comfortable, I feel good to be in F3 and I’m happy to be here.

“I can’t wait for the race tomorrow and the season ahead.”

Reflecting on the race

Furthermore, Lindblad spoke about his fight for the lead during the Sprint Race and how he felt comfortable in the car. He admitted that the first lap was “quite poor” from his side as he lost a position; however, he said that after that, he “knew the speed was quite good and was just trying to manage the tyres”.

From the fifth lap of the Sprint, Lindblad was aware that the win was “possible”. To achieve the victory, the young driver has to battle with Tsolov and when asked about his feelings when taking the lead, Lindblad told the media:

“Obviously, it was really exciting when I passed Nikola [Tsolov] for the lead. It was a difficult race and to take the win on my debut was really cool and something I’m really happy about.

“Also, the last lap, realising I won the race was really cool and a really good feeling but I know there’s still a lot I can improve, a lot I need to work on, so we’re going to do our homework tonight, see if we can improve for tomorrow take the momentum for the rest of the season.”

The Formula 3 grid will take to the track once again tomorrow for the first Feature Race of the 2024 season. Dino Beganovic begins the race on pole position, following the qualifying results, but who will take victory tomorrow?

Headline image: X @Formula3

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