New Antonelli case: Red Bull to request exemption for Lindblad

Red Bull is definitely keen to use this 2025 season to train its young hopeful Arvid Lindblad. The Englishman now appears to be the next member of the Junior Team to apply for a seat on the grid in the future, and perhaps even as early as 2026 when Yuki tsunoda could leave the Red Bull galaxy at the end of the year.

Best rookie of F3 last year and driver with the most victories over the season (4), the protégé of the Austrian team was quickly confirmed at Campos in F2A promotion that demonstrates the conviction of Red Bull's management in his potential, thus preventing him from repeating the year.

« We are not looking for a new one Max Verstappen, we are looking for a new champion. And I think the next one who looks really promising is Arvid Lindblad, » Helmut Marko recently confided about him.

Red Bull expects a similar process to Mercedes' with Antonelli

With a view to polishing its rough diamond, Red Bull, according to our information, aims to have him participate in no fewer than eight free practice sessions during race weekends. To do this, Arvid Lindblad must finally validate his Super Licence.

So far, there is no problem since the Englishman has already collected the 40 points needed to obtain it, having notably won the FROC (Formula Regional Oceania) title during the winter. The problem is that he is not yet 18 years old as stipulated in the regulations, modified after the arrival of Max Verstappen in F1 in 2015 when he was just over 17 years old.

However, The FIA ​​made a change last year to the rule of the International Sporting Code concerning the minimum age in Formula 1, giving the opportunity to drivers who are not yet 18 years old to obtain a Super Licence and drive in the discipline. From now on, article 13.1.32 of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code states that " at the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated exceptional ability and maturity in Formula One car competitions car can be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 »

An exemption was then made to allow Mercedes to run Andrea Kimi Antonelli in free practice in 2024 with a view to his promotion this season. Red Bull will now do the same. We are monitoring the situation and, given that a precedent has been set with Antonelli, we expect a similar process., " we were told by the Austrian team. Proof that they have a lot of hope in their new gem.

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