Arvid Lindblad wins captivating F3 sprint race on debut in Bahrain
Arvid Lindblad stayed close to the leaders and perfectly timed his move for the lead to take victory in the first race of the FIA Formula 3 season in Bahrain.
Arvid Lindblad celebrates on the podium in Bahrain. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
The 16-year-old British rookie started on the second row and was witness to a duel between ART Grand Prix drivers Nikola Tsolov and Laurens van Hoepen for much of the 19-lap race before entering the foray with five laps to go.
A lunge on leader Tsolov into turn one was unsuccessful on lap 15 when Lindblad lost the drag race to turn four, but the PREMA Racing driver made the winning move the following lap and established an unassailable lead in the final four laps.
“Really good result, really happy to win on debut,” said Lindblad.
“I’m quite inexperienced compared to those around me so I knew going into this year was going to be really challenging, but we’ve started off on the right foot.”
“Hopefully we can try to continue like this.”
Arvid Lindblad celebrates with PREMA Racing teammates after winning the F3 sprint race in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
Lindblad, now on a three-race winning streak after taking out both the qualifying race and feature race in the 2023 Macau Formula 4 event, said his race management was a mix of strategy and reacting to those ahead.
“I knew the tyres, there’s a lot of degradation here in Bahrain, so I knew it was going to be important to manage well, especially in the first few laps.”
“I tried to manage as best I could, I wasn’t too worried when they got away a little bit, but obviously didn’t want to get the gap too big because the DRS is so powerful.”
The story of the race was all but written in the first fifteen laps, with Tsolov taking the lead from his rookie teammate off the start.
It marked the beginning of a duel between the two ART cars, with Lindblad keeping a watching brief and emerging into second as van Hoepen ran wide on lap 13.
From there he made his move for the lead, fighting with Tsolov on lap 15 before the winning pass on lap 16.
The Bulgarian sophomore attempted to return serve but van Hoepen and Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli were immediately in his mirrors and challenging for the podium positions.
Tsolov begin to struggle and dropped to fourth at the line, with van Hoepen second on his rookie debut, and Fornaroli completing the top three.
Laurens van Hoepen, Arvid Lindblad, and Leonardo Fornaroli on the podium in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
“From lap five onwards was where I knew that the pace was really strong and a win was possible,” said the PREMA driver.
“Then I just tried to go step-by-step.”
“The last lap, realising that I had won the race was really cool, a really good feeling.
“But I know there’s a lot I can improve, a lot I need to work on, so we’re going to do our homework tonight, see if we can improve for tomorrow and try to take this momentum to the rest of the season.”
Australian Christian Mansell was 14th, having run in the top ten for most of the race before his pace significantly dropped in the final laps, while Tommy Smith was 28th after a late-race clash with Peruvian Matías Zagazeta.
Lindblad will start Sunday’s feature race in 9th, with teammate Dino Beganovic on pole.
Arvid Lindblad leads the Formula 3 sprint race in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
“Today’s race is really positive, so for sure it gives me hope for tomorrow,” said Lindblad.
“We’ll see what happens, I know that it’ll be a lot more difficult tomorrow.”
“All of the really strong guys are ahead of me, so we’ll see what happens, but definitely optimistic.”
The FIA Formula 3 feature race is underway at 8pm Saturday (AEDT).
Watch every race of the FIA Formula 3 season on Kayo Sports.
