Red Bull driver posts statement after FIA issue latest penalty at Hungarian GP

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad has admitted the last few weeks “have been tough” after receiving another penalty from the FIA over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

Lindblad’s hopes of winning the prestigious Formula 2 (formerly GP2) title – previously won by the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri – have suffered a number of blows over recent weeks.

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindlad given another FIA penalty at Hungarian GP

The teenager trails current F2 championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli by 62 points entering the 2025 summer break having been restricted to just two points finishes since the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in early June.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Lindblad was disqualified from the F2 feature race at the Belgian Grand Prix last month after all four of his tyres were found to be underneath Pirelli’s minimum pressure.

The British-Swede was once again on the wrong end of a stewards’ decision in Hungary last weekend after being hit with a post-race time penalty.

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Lindblad was found to have left the track and gained an advantage at Turn 3 in battle with ART driver and Williams F1 junior Victor Martins during Saturday’s sprint race in Budapest.

The 17-year-old was handed a five-second post-race penalty, dropping him from fourth to 10th in the final classification.

In a statement posted to social media, Lindblad admitted it “hurt” to let his chance of victory in the sprint race “slip” in Hungary.

And he admitted that the summer break has come at a good time, allowing him to “reset” ahead of the final four rounds of the season in Italy, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Lindblad wrote: “The last few rounds have been tough. Saturday’s Sprint hurt – a win was there, and I let it slip.

“[On Sunday], I came back fighting. Pace wasn’t quite there, but I raced hard and defended well.

“Now time for a reset and a much-needed break.”

As reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, Lindblad was granted an exemption to obtain an F1 Super Licence by the FIA in June, theoretically allowing him to compete in Formula 1 ahead of his 18th birthday.

However, Lindblad is set to turn 18 on Friday August 8, rendering his exemption moot when the F1 2025 season resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix later this month.

Lindblad made his first appearance on an official F1 race weekend last month, driving Yuki Tsunoda’s RB21 in opening practice at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The youngster managed 14th on the timesheets in FP1, lapping around half a second slower than reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after Lindblad’s FP1 outing, Christian Horner, the recently departed Red Bull team principal, praised the teenager’s performance and described him as one to watch for the future.

Horner said: “I thought he acquitted himself very well. He’s obviously another product of the junior team.

“He’s a talented young guy, only 17 years of age. To jump into the car here at this circuit, which is a tough circuit, and be only within half a second, I thought he acquitted himself very well.

“His feedback was clear and concise and he’s definitely a prospect for the future.”

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