ARVID LINDBLAD once told Lando Norris that he would be in F1 in five years time.

The British teenager, 18, has come true to his word with him gearing up for his debut for Racing Bulls in the season opener on March 8 in Australia.
Arvid Lindblad told Lando Norris he would race in F1Credit: Getty
Lindblad met Norris when he was 14-years-old as the pair shook hands in the paddock at Adria Karting Raceway in Italy.

Norris, who was crowned champion for McLaren in last season’s finale, was there to launch his own karting team.

And cheeky chappy Lindblad’s exact words were: “Lando, I want you to remember me, I will see you in five years.”

Lindblad said he was inspired by Lewis Hamilton telling Ron Dennis when he was 10-years-old that he would one day drive for McLaren.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton would go on to make his F1 debut and win his first world title with the team.

Lindblad added after: “It was really just like a spur of the moment. I was talking with my mate at the track, and we saw Lando,

“I said to my mate, ‘I’ll be racing with him soon in F1’ and my friend was like, ‘you don’t have the guts to tell him’ and I wanted to prove him wrong!

“So I went straight up to Lando and he was very kind about it. I said, ‘it was nice to meet you and see in five years’.

“I got inspired by Lewis Hamilton telling Ron Dennis [he would join McLaren] and it was a similar kind of vibe, so it was just my friend egging me on!”

Lindblad is about to become Britain’s youngest ever F1 driver after replacing Isack Hadjar who was promoted to Red Bull.

He was told of Red Bull’s decision to promote him to their second team at last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, where he was competing in the penultimate round of F2.

The news was broken by Red Bull’s former motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who had signed him for the company’s driver programme when he was 13.

He is one of five British F1 drivers on the grid this year and the first Brit with Indian heritage on the grid.

His father, Stefan, is Swedish while his mother, Anita, is of Indian descent.

Lindblad’s love for racing came from his dad’s side with his grandfather a huge motorsports fan.

He grew up in Virginia Water in Surrey with his parents grafting hard to help their son get to where he is today.

The British driver spent seven years racing in karts and winning a number of  international championships before making his car-racing debut in 2022 aged only 15.

He then soared through the ranks of F4, F3 and F2 year by year thanks to the help of Marko.

He said: “Since becoming a Formula 1 driver… the best thing was just becoming a Formula 1 driver,

“This is something I’ve been doing with my dad,

“I got the news in Qatar when I was with him, so obviously that was a very special moment to share together.”