FIA announce Arvid Lindblad super licence verdict as Red Bull assess new plans

Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad has been handed a major boost to his career, as the 17-year-old has been granted special dispensation by the FIA to have a super licence.

The British-Swedish racer has excelled in F2 in his first season in 2025, claiming two race victories in his first 11 races in the series.

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It has led to rumours that the 17-year-old could be given a chance to impress either with Racing Bulls or the main Red Bull team later in 2025, via practice sessions, or even as part of a driver switch around that could be caused by a potential one-race ban coming up for Max Verstappen.

However, it was thought that this would not be able to happen due to Lindblad's tender age meaning he could not obtain a super licence. At the latest meeting of the FIA world motorsport council, however, they have decided that Lindblad be given a super licence before his 18th birthday, just as Kimi Antonelli was last year.

However, GPFans understands the super licence approval is not related to Verstappen’s potential race ban, as the request was made during the middle of April.

"The FIA has received a request to grant a super licence to Arvid Lindblad prior to his 18th birthday," an official FIA statement read.

"After considering the information presented in support of this request, the world council found that the driver has recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition and therefore approved the request."

Will Lindblad be allowed to compete in F1?

Just like Antonelli during the 2024 season, Lindbald can now take part in official practice sessions in the remainder of the 2025 season.

It means we may see the 17-year-old in either a Red Bull or a Racing Bull sooner rather than later, although he will seemingly have to wait his turn for a full grand prix debut.

Red Bull have already confirmed that, in the event of a Verstappen ban, either Liam Lawson or Isack Hadjar would be promoted into the Red Bull seat for one race, while youngster Ayumu Iwasa would race in the Racing Bulls car.

However, the urgency to get Lindblad a super licence shows that Red Bull are wanting to blood the 17-year-old in F1 relatively soon, with Lindblad showing great promise.

Beginning to give him more opportunities in more senior series may also stop rival teams sniffing around his services.

For Lindblad, it's a huge boost of confidence that his performances in F2 are getting noticed, and he can now look forward to making his F1 debut.

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