Arvid Lindblad to drive a Red Bull at Silverstone

A new face will take part in Free Practice 1 of the British Grand Prix Formula 1 this weekend. While Arvid Lindblad's presence at this testing session had already been confirmed by Helmut Marko, we did not yet know whether the Briton would be driving a Racing Bulls or a Red Bull. The Austrian team confirmed this Wednesday that the 17-year-old will replace Yuki tsunoda during this session. This is the second time that the team of Milton Keynes will be rolling a rookie this season, after Ayumu Iwasa in place of Max Verstappen in Bahrain.

Lindblad in Free Practice, Tsunoda in the Hot Seat?

Considered a huge talent within the Red Bull clan, to the point of having been issued his Super Licence to drive in Formula 1 even before he came of age (since he will be 18 on August 8th), Lindblad, after driving in private test sessions at Imola, will therefore experience his baptism of fire in an official session, directly at Red Bull.

At 17, could Lindblad represent a short- or medium-term risk for Yuki Tsunoda, whom he will replace for this session? The Japanese driver seems to be in a state of decline within the Austrian team, after a disastrous weekend from start to finish in Spielberg (elimination in Q1, last-place finish in the race). If Lindblad shows enough quality and maturity in the coming weeks, Red Bull could decide to shake up its line-ups again during the season.

By sending Lindblad directly to the parent company without going through the Faenza Or by placing him in the Racing Bulls nursery to promote Isack Hadjar? Liam Lawson could also feel threatened in the Italian team, but the New Zealander has been on the rise in recent weeks and is coming off a very good sixth place in Austria. At the moment, if one driver seems threatened by the promising Lindblad, it's Tsunoda. By testing its diamond, Red Bull also seems to be preparing the possible succession of Max Verstappen, announced close to Mercedes by the Italian media.

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