The quest to find the next star driver out of the Red Bull Racing academy continues for chief advisor Helmut Marko.
Marko has helped Red Bull unearth several stars during his time with the team, and the Anglo-Austrian outfit are still benefiting from his work today.
Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel are the two leading examples of how Red Bull’s academy program has inspired the rest of the grid to follow suit.
There were plenty of examples of this on the grid this year, including when Williams replaced one academy graduate – Logan Sargeant – with another as Franco Colapinto made his debut.
Kimi Antonelli and Jack Doohan will take part in their first full rookie seasons in 2025, with Ferrari’s latest prodigy Oliver Bearman on loan at Haas.
For Red Bull, the conveyor belt of talent has stuttered in recent years.
They were forced to look outside of their ranks when replacing Alex Albon with Sergio Perez in 2021.
Perez is about to be replaced by Liam Lawson, the latest hope from their talent pool after just 11 Grand Prix.
In an interview with the Inside Line Podcast, Marko has now shared which driver he and rest of Red Bull are getting particularly excited about.
Helmut Marko hails ‘outstanding’ Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad
Asked if he’s now trying to find the new Verstappen, Marko said: “So basically, it’s a great pleasure and enjoyment to work with Max.
“But, Max won’t drive forever, especially not as long as Alonso or Hamilton are doing and the junior team prospect is to find new talents.
READ MORE: Ranking every driver to race for Red Bull during their 20 years in F1 including Max Verstappen vs Sebastian Vettel
“And we are not looking for a new Max, we’re looking for a new champion.
“And I think the next one, which looks really promising is Arvid Lindblad. His father is Swedish, his mother is Indian, so, it’s a very seldom [seen] combination.
“And he was in his first year in Formula 4, even he didn’t win the championship. The same applies to F3, he could have won the championship, but circumstances and so on.
“But what makes him outstanding is his pure speed.
“In one of the Formula 3 races he overtook in one lap, I don’t know, 10 or 14 other drivers, he won the race from being last in these tricky conditions.”
Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad closing in on Formula 1
Lindblad was one of the stars of Formula 3 last year and while he didn’t win the championship, he was by far the youngest driver on the grid.
His rise through the ranks is similar to former F2 champion Theo Pourchaire who ended up being a victim of his success as people took one look at the three years it took him to win the title and assumed that was his level.
The 17-year-old looks set to play a role as an RB reserve driver next year if Isack Hadjar benefits from Sergio Perez losing his seat and the knock-on effects that could have.
READ MORE: RB have now made a 2025 driver decision which suggests Liam Lawson’s being promoted to Red Bull
Lindblad has already driven an F1 car but has yet to take part in any testing, which given his age would previously have required special dispensation if it was part of an official session.
Christian Horner is a big fan of Lindblad and although Pepe Marti – his F2 teammate for 2025 – is more experienced, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the young Brit leapfrog him in the pecking order.
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