Arvid Lindblad caught out in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix: "I had quite a lead"

Plagued by several electrical and mechanical issues since the start of the weekend, Arvid Lindblad is not experiencing the fairytale run he had in Melbourne last week. In Shanghai, the Racing Bulls driver is facing his first difficulties, despite his best efforts, in a context where the pace is less than guaranteed for the Italian team. Eliminated in Q2, stuck in 15th place.^e In that position, he could have done better if he hadn't been cut off mid-stride.

“It was intense in Q1. The first lap wasn’t great, and I made a mistake on the second lap. I’d kind of wrecked the tires, but then I felt good again on the first run of Q2.” he explained after the session"I messed up my last sector a bit, but otherwise it was fine, and on my last lap of Q2, I felt really good, I was quite a bit ahead of my best lap. I don't know if I could have made it to Q3, but I thought it was possible because I was three tenths of a second faster than my time and I knew I hadn't had a good third sector before that."

Just as he was about to burst into the final sector of the circuit, Arvid Lindblad had to slow down, forced by Gabriel Bortoleto's off-track excursion, causing the yellow flag to be waved in that section.

"It's a shame about the yellow flag, but that's how it is. I'm going to give it my best race; I was a few laps short in FP1, but that's the situation we're in, we have to make the most of it." he put into perspective"It will be an interesting race from a tire perspective, as we saw in the Sprint. We'll do our best to have the best possible strategy regarding tires and battery management, and try to score points."

Fast in Australia, and above all capable of scoring two points upon his arrival in F1The rookie of the 2026 season will be under scrutiny, especially at the start. Having made an exemplary start last week, will he repeat the feat at the first corner in Shanghai?

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