Next Max Verstappen? FIA rule change gives rising Red Bull star a chance

Never mind Kimi Antonelli, Red Bull have a driver of their own who Helmut Marko is “delighted” could benefit from the FIA’s ruling on special dispensation for drivers younger than 18 to be allowed to race in F1.

That could open the door for British teenager Arvid Lindblad, who won’t be 18 until August next year.

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Earlier this year the FIA, said to be responding to an approach from a team regarding 17-year-old Antonelli, paved the way for a driver under the age of 18 to gain a super licence.

Updating Appendix L of the International Sporting Code, the FIA added a clause that reads: “At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old.”

But while all the talk at the time was about Mercedes junior driver Antonelli and whether or not he could replace Logan Sargeant before the summer break, Red Bull with their junior programme could be the ones that benefit.

Set to “analyse and evaluate” the performances of Red Bull’s junior drivers during the summer break, Marko highlighted Formula 3 driver Arvid Lindblad’s result.

Racing in the Formula 3 championship, the 16-year-old won on debut in the Bahrain sprint and has racked up another three wins to sit P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.

“Arvid Lindblad shone in Formula 3,” Marko said in his Speedweek column. “He was a rookie who went straight from Formula 4 to Formula 3 and won both races.

“He is only 16 years old and we are delighted that he can now drive in Formula 1 at 17.

“But we are staying calm and continuing to produce good results with our juniors, who are now being given more priority and are allowed to keep pushing in the Formula 1 car.”

One of those junior drivers is Formula 2’s Isack Hadjar, who drove the Red Bull RB20 during Friday’s opening practice at the British Grand Prix.

“Isack did well in his most recent test,” declared Marko. “He never had the soft tyres on his car, but he showed strong performances and his comments were good too.

“Isack and Arvid have great qualities, they are super fast and have Formula 1 quality. And we must not forget Ayumu Iwasa, who is currently in second place in the Super Formula in Japan.”

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Helmut Marko would rather chance a rookie than ‘stagnating’ driver

Hadjar, who Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently mentioned as a potential 2025 VCARB driver, and Lindblad are by no means the only drivers on Red Bull’s list.

While the team contemplates whether or not to continue with Sergio Perez after the summer break, they’ve been urged to give reserve driver Liam Lawson a shot in the RB20 alongside Max Verstappen.

But if that’s a leap too far for the team, he is in line for the second VCARB seat.

But Marko, speaking about some drivers on the grid who are “stagnating”, insists he’s not afraid of putting a rookie in the car as Haas are doing next season with Oliver Bearman.

“Next year, Oliver Bearman will be a driver moving up to Formula 1 who was in the right place at the right time. His race in the Ferrari showed him his GP future. If you take his Formula 2 results into account, things would look a lot worse for him,” he said.

“But it’s good that young people are coming to Formula 1, I’m absolutely in favour of that.

“I can’t name any names, but there are drivers in the field who are stagnating and are better or worse depending on the mood. They are blocking the way for the young drivers.

“The teams are also afraid of juniors. Of course they make mistakes, but I’d rather someone makes mistakes and has hope for the future than there being no further improvement.”

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