Arvid Lindblad has been granted a Formula 1 superlicence after the FIA World Motor Sport Council made an exception for Red Bull’s 17-year-old protege.
Lindblad is currently third in the Formula 2 standings with two wins.
He cleared the 40-point threshold to be eligible for a superlicence by winning the Formula Regional Oceania title (formerly known as the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand), and made his F1 testing debut in a private Red Bull run earlier this year.
However, the FIA’s licence regulations typically require a driver to be 18 when they apply for either a free practice superlicence or a full superlicence, and Lindblad only turns 18 in August.
The request for a superlicence for Lindblad, which was heard by the FIA WMSC in Macau on Wednesday, came as Red Bull sought to take advantage of a change to the FIA regulations last year.
That gave the governing body the power to award a 17-year-old a superlicence if they “have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition”.
Though that requires an arbitrary judgement, it was always expected that Lindblad would clear the threshold given his title-challenging form in Formula 4, Formula 3 and now F2, plus his Red Bull F1 test.
The FIA has confirmed that a superlicence has been granted, marking an unprecedented moment since the age limit was first introduced - in the wake of Max Verstappen's shock F1 graduation as a 17-year-old after just one year in Formula 3.
Lindblad is highly rated within the Red Bull organisation and is tipped to get an F1 race seat sooner or later at its second team Racing Bulls.
It is understood that Red Bull submitted the request months ago, but it was only now heard because it was the first time the WMSC had convened since.
The primary intention is for Lindblad to be able to participate in Friday practice sessions and help fulfil the requirement for Red Bull and Racing Bulls to run a rookie twice in each car (although Isack Hadjar has ticked that box for his Racing Bulls entry).
The timing of the superlicence being granted is helpful given the potential for Red Bull to make - or need - driver line-up changes this year.
Firstly, world champion Max Verstappen is very close to an automatic one-race ban after amassing 11 licence penalty points. Lindblad would obviously not step in for him but a rejig to cover Verstappen would potentially leave a vacant seat at Racing Bulls to be filled.
Secondly, it is possible Red Bull choose to update its Racing Bulls line-up independently of that later in the year. Liam Lawson was dumped by Red Bull after just two races, and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda - who has struggled alongside Verstappen just like his predecessors.
While Tsunoda is 99% certain to complete the 2025 season with Red Bull, it is possible that Red Bull opts to give Lindblad F1 experience later in the year at Racing Bulls if Lawson continues to be comprehensively outperformed by Hadjar.
