FIA approves Red Bull’s Lindblad F1 superlicence request

The FIA has formally approved Red Bull’s request to grant its British youngster Arvid Lindblad an FIA superlicence before he turns 18.

Lindblad turns 18 on 8 August 2025, meaning he would normally have to wait two more months before reaching the minimum requirement age to be eligible for the licence that would allow him to compete in F1.

But as with Mercedes talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli last year, Red Bull has used a clause in the FIA’s International Sporting Code to ask for an exemption for the F2 driver. At the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council meeting in Macau, the governing body approved the request.

“The FIA has received a request to grant a Super Licence to Arvid Lindblad prior to his 18th birthday,” an FIA statement from Macau read.

“After considering the information presented in support of this request, the World Council found that the driver has recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition and therefore approved the request.”

In granting the request, Lindblad can now be an additional F1 reserve driver option for Red Bull and Racing Bulls two months ahead of schedule, complementing existing reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa – who currently competes in Super Formula.

That move is particularly intriguing given world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban, meaning he needs to get through the Canadian and Austrian grand prix weekends without infractions until he loses the next batch of penalty points.

But as previously reported, Red Bull’s Lindblad request precedes Verstappen’s three penalty points accrued in Barcelona and is not related to its lead driver’s situation.

Lindblad most recently won his first F2 feature race in Spain as he looks to be on the right trajectory to become the next driver in line for an F1 debut with the Red Bull family.

It is expected the Campos Racing driver, who sits third in the championship, will take part in several FP1 sessions over the next few months ahead of a possible 2026 graduation.