The third driver of Indian origin ever to race in Formula 1 just opened his points account — and he is only getting started.
Arvid Lindblad, 18, scored his maiden F1 points with a career-best P6 at the Monaco Grand Prix, helping Racing Bulls to their first double-points haul of the season. The sole rookie on the 2026 grid, he became one of the youngest drivers in the sport's history on debut.
The heritage
His father Stefan is Swedish; his mother Anita is British Indian, with family roots in pre-Partition Punjab before her parents settled in England as doctors in the 1970s. His middle name, Anand, comes from his maternal grandfather. Lindblad races with British, Swedish and Indian flags on his helmet, and has spoken of wanting to "bring a bit of India back to the F1 grid." He follows Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok as only the third driver of Indian origin to reach Formula 1.
The rise
A Red Bull junior since 2021, Lindblad became the youngest feature-race winner in both F3 and F2 history before being signed by Racing Bulls for 2026, alongside Liam Lawson. In March he came to Delhi for Red Bull Moto Jam, his first showrun as an F1 driver — an appearance he called "even more special" given his background.
It is early, and the points will ebb and flow. But for a country of nearly 80 million F1 fans without a home race, Lindblad is something rare: a driver to genuinely call our own.
