Max Verstappen doesn’t want a clone. He wants a rival.
As Red Bull’s junior ranks buzz about Arvid Lindblad, the four-time world champion has offered the 18‑year‑old some pointed advice: forget being “the next Max,” and build your own name. Lindblad, currently seventh in Formula 2 with two wins on the board this season, is fast becoming the hottest ticket in Red Bull’s pipeline and—if the paddock whisper is to be believed—a live option for Racing Bulls.
Helmut Marko certainly hasn’t been shy about the hype. Speaking after Lindblad’s eye-catching Formula 3 campaign, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor framed the Briton as the group’s next genuine title prospect. “We are not looking for a new Max, we are looking for a new champion,” Marko said, singling out Lindblad as the standout of the current crop.
The résumé is filling up quickly. Lindblad has already banked the necessary FIA Super Licence points—helped by his title in Formula Regional Oceania earlier this year—and has been busy with Testing Previous Car mileage for Racing Bulls. Then came a tidy FP1 at Silverstone in the RB21. Marko liked what he saw there, praising the teenager’s pace and feedback as “profound,” with Red Bull’s engineers said to be pleased by how efficiently he went about it.
Verstappen, who’s tracked Lindblad since the youngster raced for his best friend’s karting outfit, is on board with the methodical approach. “He’s very fast and he just needs to do it step by step,” Verstappen said. “Red Bull are preparing him well. He should just be himself. Being labelled as the next Max… he should focus on doing his thing. He’s got good people around him.”
Lindblad’s taking the hint. “It’s cool to be associated with a four-time World Champion,” he told The Times earlier this year, “but I want to be the first Arvid Lindblad, not the next Max Verstappen.”
Where that first Arvid Lindblad ends up next is the intriguing part. The obvious landing spot is Faenza, where Racing Bulls have been aggressively cycling through Red Bull-backed talent. One scenario doing the rounds has Isack Hadjar stepping up to the senior team alongside Verstappen, opening a seat for Lindblad. That’s classic silly-season arithmetic, and it’ll stay that way until contracts and performance make it real.
What isn’t up for debate is the trajectory. Super Licence? Sorted. FP1? Box ticked, with calm execution. Results? Coming in F2, with enough substance to keep Marko leaning forward in his chair. Red Bull don’t often telegraph their next move. But they rarely talk up a kid this much without a plan.
Lindblad doesn’t need to be Verstappen 2.0. If he keeps stacking days like Silverstone and converting F2 pace into points, he won’t have to be. He’ll arrive as himself—and in this paddock, that’s the quickest way to matter.
