Arvid Lindblad: Toyota FR Oceania "a luxury" ahead of F2 campaign

You would be forgiven for thinking Arvid Lindblad is a much more experienced driver, given his dominance so far this year in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania series.

The British driver only made his debut in car racing just over two years ago, joining the Italian Formula 4 series mid-year in 2022. It's something that he reminds me of when we discuss his experience.

"Being completely honest with you, I'm not that experienced," he clarifies, before listing the series he has rocketed through.

"Obviously, I have driven quite a few cars, but I've only been in single-seaters for two years."

He had just turned fifteen when he made that open-wheel debut, the youngest member of the Red Bull Junior Team after joining in his karting days. Lindblad's teens came with the 2020 WSK Super Master Series title in OKJ karts before taking out the WSK Euro Series and WSK Final Cup for OK karts.

Into Italian F4, arguably the pinnacle and definitely the most popular series on the bottom rung of the FIA "pyramid," where he was into the top ten by his second round.

"I did 2023 in F4, 2024 in F3, so part of being here is literally just track time."

It's early in Queenstown, with meetings and activities scheduled throughout the day, and Lindblad is reflecting on his year so far.

Not that there is much to reflect on just three rounds in (four at the time of publishing), but the Brit is already having the kind of foundational season that has built the reputation of the series as a proving ground for future talent. Talent like Liam Lawson, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Robert Shwartzman. The names that Toyota likes to include on highlight reels and promotional materials.

"I've really enjoyed it. I think it's really a fantastic series," says.

"It's really well run. I think Toyota, they do a fantastic job on that side. I think everything's really equal as well, which is very important when you start new championships."

"And then the circuits are really good. They're quite different to ones in Europe, with a bit more, a bit more "old school", which is quite a commonly used phrase, but not really much runoff, not many straights, or quite technical, with lots of corners and different types of corners, which is great and obviously very challenging for me as a driver, which is what it's all about."

The schedule, he says, is more intense than other series, with rounds each weekend for five weeks as the series rushes towards its conclusion at the New Zealand Grand Prix. Each week allows for two or three days off, but Lindblad values the track time that the series provides in return.

The Toyota FT-60, the car used in the Formula Regional Oceania series, has been a slight step down for Lindblad after a year in FIA Formula 3, but he is enjoying the extra time it allows him to hone his skills in the car.

"But I just get in the car and drive it," he says.

"It's different than I'm used to this sort of, little aero. It's really just like a big F4. But that's fine, I'm enjoying the car so far. I've started to have more time with it the past couple weeks and get more comfortable and improve myself as well."

"So I feel in a good place now with the car, working with the team every week to try to get everything in the best window, with my driving and with the setup."

"And yeah, the results are going well."

While not a whitewash, it is getting very close. The Toyota series has seen head-to-head battles in the past, and cameo appearances from Supercars champion Will Brown put early pressure on Lindblad.

Round 1 / Race 3 / Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy
Taupo
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Matias Zagazeta +5.325s
#3 Zack Scoular +10.161s

Lindblad has certainly adapted to the machinery, and he is dominant when there is a trophy on offer, taking victory in all four feature races so far with only the New Zealand Grand Prix left on the table.

"He is an exceptional talent, one of the finest we’ve seen in New Zealand over the seasons and of course, we’ve had some of the world’s best race in this championship over the past 20 seasons," says Nicolas Caillol, motorsport manager at Toyota GAZOO Racing New Zealand.

"This is also a strong field, with a number of drivers who have the potential to make it to F1, Indycar and other leading categories. It’s probably our best field since 2020 and that really just emphasises how good Arvid is performing."

"We are certainly watching a future star."

The M2 Competition driver's focus though, is not necessarily on the big picture. "I think I'm somewhat of a person who stays quite in the moment, or at least, I really try to," he says. Elsewhere, "I'm here to win races." But at the back of his mind, he can't escape his upcoming FIA Formula 2 debut or his newfound Formula One commitments with Red Bull.

"I know that I have F2 very nearby. So, I'm really trying to utilize this opportunity, because in some sense, it is a luxury to be able to have this much drive time."

"At the F2 level, there's going to be very little. I'm really trying to just focus on that and utilize this experience, because I won't get another where I get so much consistent driving time."

And then?

"Yeah, I am very excited to get back in the F2 because that is the main championship, and that is the biggest stage. It's a bit more enjoyable. That that side of motorsport, that sort of category, F2 and F3 is just, it's really amazing. You are on the F1 weekends, you really get to feel that you're not that far away anymore, and it's really cool."

"But, yeah, like I said this is a luxury, in a sense, to have this opportunity, to have so much drive time, and to have almost a lower pressure environment to focus on myself and to learn and develop."

"So, I'm really trying to just to focus on that, but I'm very excited that in two weeks, I'm going to be a full F2 driver again."

Round 2 / Race 1
Hampton Downs
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Zack Scoular +0.530s
#3 Will Brown +1.475s

The Toyota FR Oceania series also allows Lindblad to collect valuable FIA Super Licence points for a potential future F1 drive. Next to track time, it remains a motivation for the young racer.

"It's some, keeping myself fit and sharp for the F2 season, as well as it's a bit known that the Super Licence is another thing, that's the main reasons for why I'm here."

"Red Bull said they want me to have the full Super Licence before the start of the F1 season. It was a late call, that was agreed in Abu Dhabi. In a simple way that was the message, and it was either coming here or going to the UAE, and we believe that this was the better option."

Round 2 / Race 3 / Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy
Hampton Downs
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Zack Scoular +2.911
#3 Josh Pierson +7.506s

Red Bull does have a vacancy, with Liam Lawson making the step up to a full-time drive at the race time, while Isack Hadjar fills his role at the Racing Bulls. Now each team needs a reserve driver, and while the team does have others in their roster like Pepe Marti and Ayumu Iwasa, Lindblad's role is growing. The rookie chosen to drive Sebastian Vettel's RB8 with David Coulthard in Houston last year.

But Arvid steers clear of conversations about his future. "I'm not involved in those conversations, so I can't sort of fully answer just because I don't know."

"On any FP1 sessions, on all that kind of stuff, I don't know. I'm only focused on the F2, and really, first the Toyota series. Then F2 will just be trying to perform there, because that's what's going to decide whether I make it, and then we'll see what happens."

"I think if I do well, then maybe things will start to come up."

Round 3 / Race 1
Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Nikita Johnson +5.931s
#3 Patrick Heuzenroeder +10.762s

He will have plenty to focus on between a new team, new machinery, and the dynamic of a new series. First, he moves on from an Italian team for the first time to join the Spanish Campos Racing outfit.

"It is a different dynamic," he says.

"Obviously, I've been with an Italian team for a while. I was with PREMA for the last two years, then also in karting, I was in an Italian team. So it's a bit of a change of dynamic. But the team have been amazing, and they're really hungry and passionate to win, and obviously, that's the most important thing."

"It doesn't really matter so where you from, or what nationality, or it's about the hunger, and that's what really excites me about Campos.

"It's been known for a while. It was announced in September, so I've already been communicating with the team and in contact with them for quite a bit of time, so I already feel quite gelled with them

"Then the Abu Dhabi test, which was my first proper experience with them, didn't really feel like that, because it had already been a few months of working together.

"So I'm excited to get back, and I feel that when I get back, it's not really going to be a thing of trying to get to know them and get back in the swing of things. I'm sure as soon as I get back, it's just going to be getting straight back into it and cracking on."

Round 3 / Race 3 / Dan Higgins Trophy
Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Nikita Johnson +2.120s
#3 Patrick Heuzenroeder +7.244s

More than just running with a new team, the FIA Formula 2 presents a new challenge as the category where the driver starts to become the face of the team. It's a jump from FIA Formula 3, or any category that isn't an international top tier, but Lindblad says it is just an evolution of the role of a driver he has come to know.

"We do have one car less than F3 but, yeah, I don't know. With less cars, less drivers, you could say that each driver has a more powerful role."

"Your feedback is more important to the team; in the sense of what direction they go with the car. So, on that side, it is very important.

"I don't really think about it. It is a different dynamic, but in the end, you to need to, in whatever category, whatever championship you do, you need to be somewhat of a leader. Because in the end, we're driving the car, and the engineers are very important, they have loads of data, but they never have what we have, which is the feeling of the car in the moment.

"You always need to be quite strong and to be a leader in that sense and have a very close relationship with the engineers. So, on that side, you could say that it's slightly more important in F2 ... but the underlying approach is the same."

Round 4 / Race 3 / Spirit of a Nation Cup
Teretonga Park
#1 Arvid Lindblad
#2 Michael Shin +1.900s
#3 Matias Zagazeta +3.905s

For now, Lindblad remains focused on his time in New Zealand.

His trophy cabinet is proof of his focus on collecting race victories: the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy, the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy, The Dan Higgins Trophy, and the Spirit of a Nation Cup.

Should he win the final feature race on Sunday, he will be the first driver in the 20-year history of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania series to win all five feature races.

With one round remaining and a 59-point lead, the title is all but his, and one more trophy awaits: the 69th New Zealand Grand Prix.