Arvid Lindblad has been granted an FIA Super Licence under special dispensation, two months short of his 18th birthday.

The British-Swedish driver has become the first driver to be granted such an exemption since the FIA introduced more strict Super Licence rules almost a decade ago.

Arvid Lindblad receives FIA dispensation for Super Licence

On Tuesday, the FIA confirmed that, following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Macau, Lindblad would be given dispensation to secure his FIA Super Licence two months before his 18th birthday.

This licence allows the holder to take part in a Formula 1 race weekend as a competitor, with all F1 drivers required to hold a valid Super Licence.

“The FIA has received a request to grant a Super Licence to Arvid Lindblad prior to his 18th birthday,” the governing body confirmed.

“After considering the information presented in support of this request, the World Council found that the driver has recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition and therefore approved the request.”

It’s not the first time Red Bull has sought a Super Licence exemption for a driver not yet in Formula 1 as, in 2022, Red Bull sought a way to place IndyCar star Colton Herta at AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) for 2023, as a possible replacement for the departing Pierre Gasly.

Herta, the youngest driver ever to win an IndyCar race as he did so at the Circuit of the Americas in early 2019 at a few days shy of his 19th birthday, was eyed up as a prospect to join the Red Bull stable – the Californian representing something of a marketing dream as an American top talent making the switch to Formula 1.

But Red Bull’s attempts to secure Herta an FIA Super Licence ultimately failed, with the FIA shutting down the prospect of the discipline switch for Herta in late 2022.

“The FIA confirms that an enquiry was made via the appropriate channels that led to the FIA confirming that the driver Colton Herta does not have the required number of points to be granted an FIA Super Licence,” ssaid the governing body at the time.

“The FIA continuously reviews its regulations and procedures, including with respect to Super Licence eligibility, with the main factors being considered with respect to this topic being safety, experience and performance in the context of the pathway.”

A little over two and a half years later, Lindblad has been given the dispensation to be given the FIA Super Licence without meeting all the requirements for such – just like Herta.

So what is the key difference that’s allowed Lindblad to succeed where Herta failed?

More on the FIA Super Licence

👉 FIA Super Licence explained: How drivers can reach the magic 40-point mark to race in F1

👉 Why the FIA was right to introduce ‘Kimi Antonelli rule’ with super licence regulation change

FIA Super Licence rules show clear difference between Arvid Lindblad and Colton Herta

Some context is required in order to understand the logic behind the FIA’s strict Super Licence rules.

10 years ago, Red Bull uncovered the precocious Max Verstappen, with the Dutch driver rapidly ascending from karting (where he dominated almost every championship he entered) into Formula 3 in 2014. By the end of that season, Red Bull had popped Verstappen behind the wheel of an F1 car for a practice session, as he took part in FP1 at Suzuka, three days after turning 17.

A few months later, Verstappen was a full-time F1 racing driver as he was given a race seat at Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), and set about making his mark in F1.

But such was Verstappen’s youth, in a sport which had seen drivers become younger and younger, the FIA sought to find ways to ensure drivers weren’t being fast-tracked too quickly into the top category of Formula 1. Essentially, this forced teams with junior driver programmes to keep these drivers in lower categories for longer.

This was done through Appendix L of the International Sporting Code, which outlined the requirements for an FIA Super Licence. In order to be granted one by the FIA, drivers needed to be 18 years old, hold an FIA Grade A competition licence, hold a valid road car licence, and have accumulated 40 points over three years of participation in different categories of motorsport.

This three-year period can be for the three years prior to the year of application for the Super Licence, or the two years prior along with the calendar year of application – whichever total ranks higher.

Each series is given a pre-defined points weighting, with the final championship position taken into account, which determines how many points a driver has earned over this three-year period.

For example, under the current weighting, any driver who wins the Formula 2 or IndyCar championship outright will automatically earn the 40 points required for an FIA Super Licence. The winner of the Formula 3 or Formula E championship secures 30 points, meaning they would require 10 points from competing in the same or other championships over this three-year period in order to reach the 40-point total.

Having secured 12 points through his fourth-place finish in Italian Formula 4 in 2023, Lindblad added another 15 points in 2024 with another fourth-place championship finish, meaning he started 2025 with 27 points.

Needing 13 points to cross the 40-point threshold, Red Bull sent their protege to New Zealand to race in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship last winter. Winning this championship in February secured him 18 points, taking him to 45 points and over the limit set by the FIA, even before taking part in the F2 championship.

Even finishing in third place in this series, the position he currently occupies, will take him to 85 points overall.

With Lindblad clearly having ticked the boxes by way of participating in multiple championships and achieving the points total, it’s only some misfortune of the timing of his birthday that is holding him back from securing his Super Licence. Born in August 2007, his achieving the FIA’s strict performance standards a few months before his 18th birthday meant the governing body could use some discretion to grant him the top licence.

This discretion has only become available to the FIA via a rule change introduced to the International Sporting Code last season. Up until last year, there were no grounds upon which to even apply for such a dispensation but the FIA sought to allow a little give in its own regulations by way of the introduction of a clause.

This clause became colloquially known as the ‘Kimi Antonelli clause’ last year, due to the widespread belief that it was introduced due to the Italian achieving what Lindblad had in achieving the 40-point requirement while a few months shy of 18 years old. A dispensation request was lodged with the FIA last summer, understood to have been by Williams, but it’s believed the request never reached the World Motor Sport Council for approval before Antonelli turned 18 years old anyway.

The reveal of this ‘Antonelli clause’ led former F1 driver turned IndyCar star Alexander Rossi to hit out at the possibility of exemptions being made, seemingly insinuating the same could have been done for Herta in late 2022. Rossi broadcast his reaction on social media platform X, tweeting: “So, exceptions can be made? Huh.”

But there is a key difference between Lindblad and Herta that determines why Lindblad was given the nod.

While the British-Swedish driver had achieved the 40-point requirement but was simply too young, Herta met the age limit but had not reached the 40-point requirement.

Put simply, Herta had not demonstrated the same “recent and consistent demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition” that Lindblad has.

With seventh place in IndyCar in 2019 (4 points), third in IndyCar in 2020 (20 points), and eight points for fifth in IndyCar in 2021, Herta had only reached 32 points over the preceding three-year period. In 2022, the year of application, Herta finished 10th in IndyCar to earn himself another point.

This means that for the three-year rule including the year of application, his Super Licence total dropped to 29 points. Even if he was given a generous four-year accumulation, which isn’t even outlined in the regulations, his total would only have been 33 points, and still not enough to reach the 40-point limit.

However, Herta’s prospects have improved vastly since then. His second-place finish in 2024 has elevated him to 32 points for the 2022-2024 window and would scrape over the 40-point threshold if he finishes in the top five of the IndyCar championship this season – opening up the possibility of being signed to the new Cadillac squad.

Herta will need to dig deep, though, to make this happen, as he currently only occupies ninth place in the championship.

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