Racing Bulls backs Lindblad with rookie-first approach

Arvid Lindblad’s return of 20 points, five top-10 finishes and no retirements in the first nine races of his rookie Formula 1 season has given Racing Bulls fresh evidence that its long-established development model still works.

The 18-year-old Briton is the only rookie on the 2026 grid, and his start has helped keep Racing Bulls firmly competitive with 59 points and sixth in the constructors’ standings. Team-mate Liam Lawson, another graduate of the same system, has scored 39 points and sits 10th in the drivers’ championship.

For team principal Alan Permane, the performance is not being framed as proof of instant polish, but of the value of patience. In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, Permane said getting the best from young drivers is "very complex" and depends on accepting that mistakes are inevitable. "One of the keys is supporting them. They will make mistakes, they will get things wrong," he said.

Permane said that matters even more because the step to F1 remains so severe. He described Formula 1 as "incredibly difficult" and called the progression from F3 and F2 into grand prix racing a "giant step," even after all the categories drivers have already climbed through. When difficult moments arrive, he said, the response has to be "helping them, supporting them, not killing them."

That philosophy has defined the Faenza team since Red Bull relaunched the former Minardi operation as Toro Rosso in 2006. Across its different identities, the team has handed F1 debuts to 15 drivers and helped shape careers including Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon. The most recent example before Lindblad was Isack Hadjar, who debuted there last year before earning a 2026 promotion to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.

Permane, who spent more than three decades with the Enstone team through its Benetton, Renault, Lotus and Alpine eras before joining Racing Bulls in 2024, said the environment at Racing Bulls gives young drivers something top teams often cannot. "I would say here there's a large amount of support," he said, adding that if Racing Bulls is seen as "a rookie-friendly team," that is what it can offer.

He put that down in part to lower pressure. At a front-running team, Permane said, drivers are expected to reach Q3 and score points every week, and an exit in Q1 is treated as a disaster. At Racing Bulls, the same kind of setback is handled differently. The team looks at what happened, why it happened and how either the driver or the team can do better next time, rather than blaming the rookie for getting it wrong.

That is the real significance of Lindblad’s opening nine races. Racing Bulls is not presenting him as the finished article, but as the latest young driver benefiting from an approach built around support, reduced expectation and constant learning before the sharper demands of a Red Bull seat come into view.