From toy cars to Formula One: Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad shares his journey, Indian fans rally behind him

Arvid Lindblad is all set to make his Formula One debut with Racing Bulls this season. The rookie is the youngest Formula 2 race winner and has been given a chance to compete alongside his idol, Lewis Hamilton.

Days after the unveiling of the Racing Bulls livery in Detroit, Lindblad shared a series of pictures offering a glimpse into his journey, from driving a toy car to karting, and then climbing the ladder through Formula 3 and Formula 2 before reaching Formula One.

Arvid Lindblad reflects on his journey from toy cars to F1

Arvid Lindblad shared several pictures on Instagram showing how he grew up driving cars of different sizes. He simply wrote in the caption, “some journey.”An aspiring kart racer commented on his post, “Congratulations! Excited to see you crush it on track this year.

Hoping to follow in your footsteps.” Another fan wrote, “How cute. Good luck, kid!” One more fan reacted, “OMG, Arvid, you were so cute as a child.”

Many Indian F1 fans also showed their support for Arvid, whose mother is of Indian origin. One fan wrote in the comments, “Why does it seem like Arvid got more Indian the older he gets?” Another said, “The whole of India is rooting for you! Be fearless.”

Arvid Lindblad excited to compete with F1 great Lewis Hamilton

Arvid Lindblad is 18 and will be competing against his idol, Lewis Hamilton, who made his F1 debut in 2007, the year Lindblad was born.

Lindblad looked up to Hamilton as he was the only F1 driver of color at the time.Sharing his excitement about competing against him, Lindblad told talkSPORT, “Lewis was a massive part of my early interest in the sport. I felt a great connection to him because he was the only driver of color. It’s a really cool idea in the sense that when I fell in love with the sport, Lewis was doing well and starting to win his world championships with Mercedes, and now I’m going to be sharing the track with him.”“You still want to beat your idols, so I don’t think I’ll race with him any differently,” he added, hinting that he will not be starstruck during the race.Arvid Lindblad has replaced Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls, while the latter has been given a chance to drive for Red Bull alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen. Lindblad will fulfill driving duties for Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson. The season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, following three pre-season tests, one in Barcelona and two in Bahrain.