Arvid Lindblad's 2026 season, measured: the rookie who says thank you
Arvid Lindblad started 2026 as the fourth-youngest driver in Formula 1 history and has scored in nine of his thirteen Grand Prix starts. He has also thanked his team on air more often than any other driver. Every race, and the radio.
When we counted every broadcast radio line of 2026, the driver who thanked his team most often was not a champion. It was the youngest driver on the grid, Arvid Lindblad, with ten.
He made his debut in Melbourne aged 18, the fourth-youngest driver in Formula 1 history and the youngest Briton ever, and scored on his first weekend. Fourteen rounds in, he has 31 points for Racing Bulls, eleventh in the championship, with points in nine of his thirteen Grand Prix starts. His radio is full of thank-yous, and we counted them.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on
, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of his 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
1
Australian
9th
8th
2
Chinese
15th
12th
3
Japanese
10th
14th
4
Miami
16th
14th
5
Canadian
9th
Did not start
6
Monaco
15th
6th
7
Barcelona
11th
9th
Grand Prix results only. Sprint results are below.
The next seven:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
8
Austrian
10th
10th
9
British
9th
7th
10
Belgian
7th
9th
11
Hungarian
9th
10th
12
Dutch
10th
12th
13
Italian
9th
8th
14
Spanish (Madrid)
10th
9th
Starting positions are the grid positions after penalties. Canada: he qualified ninth but a gearbox issue kept him from starting.
The season in numbers
31 points, eleventh in the championship, 30 from Grands Prix and one from a sprint.
Best result: sixth at Monaco, from fifteenth on the grid.
Points in nine of thirteen Grand Prix starts, including every race from Monaco to Hungary.
1 non-start, Canada, with a gearbox issue.
His sprints: retired in China, did not start in Miami, eighth in Canada for his only sprint point, tenth at Silverstone and tenth at Zandvoort.
Monaco
He started fifteenth and finished sixth, the kind of result Monaco hands out to drivers who stay out of trouble while others do not. His radio after the flag:
Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls · Monaco Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 17:32:20 local
EngineerPistons, Arvid, well done. Well, congratulations,
Drivereveryone. Unbelievable result. Amazing work. Yeah, thank you to everyone. Thank you to everyone on the track and fans and all the team kids as well. Amazing result from the team. Congratulations.
EngineerArvid, it's Arlen. Well done, mate. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your team play. It paid off. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.
DriverYeah, congratulations, guys. Thanks, Arlen. It was a real team effort today. We got some luck, but amazing execution from everyone. So, thank you. Well
Engineerdone, well done. Everyone is being big time here, Arvid. Very good difference.
"Unbelievable result. Amazing work. Yeah, thank you to everyone." His engineer thanked him back for his patience and his team play: "It paid off."
The thank-yous, and the apologies
Most drivers thank their team after a good result. Lindblad does it after an ordinary one, and apologises when he thinks he should have done better. At Silverstone he finished seventh, a strong result for a Racing Bulls, and still said sorry:
Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls · British Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:41:02 local
DriverWell done, Nippon. Another amazing result. Apologies for Nippon, it's
Engineera
Driverlesson. Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, that annoys me. Not at you, but yeah, I'm not bad at you, it's just... Yeah, it's really frustrating, but regardless, it's
Engineera
Drivergood team effort. We'll keep working. It's a good day for the team, but not good enough. We need to give you all the tools, so we'll do better. Apologies.
"It's a good day for the team, but not good enough. We need to give you all the tools, so we'll do better. Apologies."
At Spa, ninth:
"Yeah, thank you everyone. I really tried."
In our count of every broadcast line of 2026, he thanked his team ten times, more than any other driver, with Lewis Hamilton next on six. He also apologised three times, among the most on the grid. The whole count is in what F1 drivers actually say on the radio.
Who he is racing
His team mate for eleven rounds was Liam Lawson, until Lawson moved up to Red Bull to cover for the injured Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda took the other Racing Bulls seat. Lawson's season, and the three races he spent in the Red Bull, are measured in Liam Lawson's 2026. The full table is in the 2026 standings.
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the championship standings after the Spanish Grand Prix. His Monaco result is the final classification, which includes post-race penalties and has him sixth. Some reports give seventh.
The radio count is what Formula 1 broadcast, not everything said. Our 2026 radio begins at the Canadian Grand Prix, so his thanks from the first four rounds are not in the count.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Arvid Lindblad?
He was born on 8 August 2007, so he made his Formula 1 debut aged 18 and turned 19 during the 2026 season. He was the fourth-youngest driver in the sport's history at his debut.
What team does Arvid Lindblad drive for?
Racing Bulls, in his rookie season in 2026.
What is Arvid Lindblad's best result in F1?
Sixth at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, from fifteenth on the grid.
How many points does Arvid Lindblad have in 2026?
31 after the Spanish Grand Prix, eleventh in the championship.
Sources
Race and sprint results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the championship standings published after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Radio counts and every message quoted: our own team radio archive
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A rookie's radio is the most honest part of a race: nobody has taught him yet what not to say.
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