Arvid Lindblad Extends His Points Streak to Five Races as Racing Bulls’ New Upgrade Pays Off in Belgium
- Arvid Lindblad finished ninth at the Belgian Grand Prix, his fifth consecutive race in the points as a rookie
- Lindblad credited a new upgrade package, earned by beating teammate Liam Lawson in Silverstone qualifying, for the strong result
- Lawson endured a difficult weekend by comparison, finishing behind both Alpine drivers in twelfth
Arvid Lindblad believes Racing Bulls made the most of a new upgrade package at the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing ninth to extend his run of points finishes to five consecutive races as a Formula 1 rookie.
Lindblad started seventh at Spa-Francorchamps and showed strong pace throughout the weekend before slipping to ninth by the finish, with Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar both recovering from grid penalties to finish ahead of him. He also lost a position to Gabriel Bortoleto after Audi pitted its driver under a Virtual Safety Car.
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A New Package Earned on Merit
The upgrade fitted to Lindblad’s car for Belgium was not handed out by chance. Racing Bulls awarded it to whichever of its two drivers came out on top in Qualifying at the British Grand Prix, and Lindblad’s margin over Liam Lawson at Silverstone secured him first use of the new parts.
“Definitely it’s been a very strong weekend for us. I think we’ve really maximised in each session,” Lindblad said. “For sure it’s a little bit of a shame to lose to Audi because I think with a normal race we would have had the P8, but fair play to them, they rolled the dice and capitalised on the VSC.”
Lindblad pointed to a late battle with Bortoleto as one of the highlights of his race. “Me and Gabi had a really fun fight towards the end, pushing each other on flat-out,” he said. “I think we can be happy with our job this weekend, we’ve maximised and looking forward to Budapest.”
He expects the new parts to work even better at the Hungaroring, where Lawson will also receive the same specification for the first time.
A Tougher Weekend for Lawson
Lawson finished twelfth at Spa-Francorchamps, beaten by both Alpine drivers, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly. He was candid about the gap he felt to the cars ahead throughout the race.
“We were too slow overall,” Lawson said. “It’s frustrating, but honestly after Qualifying, I knew we weren’t as quick as we needed to be. Good start but just fighting a losing battle through the race.”
Even without a strong result to show from Belgium, Lawson found something to be positive about in the version of the upgrade that ran on Lindblad’s car. “I mean it’s positive at least, one car is very, very quick,” he said. “Hopefully that translates to us next week but we’ll find out.”
He is looking forward to a change of scenery at the Hungaroring after a tough weekend at Spa. “It’s obviously a very different track in Budapest but I’m definitely excited to get out of here and over to there,” Lawson said.
Racing Bulls Locked in a Tight Fight
Lindblad’s result kept Racing Bulls level with Alpine in the constructors’ standings, with both teams tied on 61 points after Belgium. The battle between the two midfield outfits has tightened as Alpine’s early-season form faded, and Lindblad’s consistency, five straight races in the points as a rookie, has become one of the team’s most reliable assets through the difficult midfield fight.
With Lawson set to receive the same upgrade specification in Hungary, Racing Bulls will hope to turn Lindblad’s individual form into a stronger two-car result at the Hungaroring.
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