F1 star reveals health battle that took years to recover from

F1's newest star Arvid Lindblad has opened up on his experience with battling Coeliac disease, after he received the diagnosis during a pivotal moment in his motorsport career.

In 2026, Lindblad will be the only rookie to join the grid, a huge contrast to the five that made their way onto the track in Melbourne last March in the form of Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and Isack Hadjar.

Fast forward almost a year on from Hadjar's heartbreaking F1 debut and it is Lindblad who is taking his place at Racing Bulls as the French-Algerian racer tries his hand at racing for the main team alongside Max Verstappen.

At just 18 years of age, Lindblad, who is a British-Swedish driver with Indian heritage on his mother's side, has finally made it to F1 after making a promise to the reigning champion Lando Norris that he would 'see him in five years time' on the F1 grid back in 2021.

Right on time, the Red Bull junior is making his debut in F1 in 2026, and ahead of his maiden competitive outing on March 8, Lindblad has opened up on a personal health battle and how it shaped his motorsport career.

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Lindblad opens up on struggle with Coeliac disease

"I actually lost a few years of growth around that age," the 18-year-old revealed in a recent interview with The Telegraph, reflecting on what it was like to be diagnosed with Coeliac disease when he was just 13, the same year that Red Bull signed him to their driver development programme.

"It really impacted me. It took me about two years to fully recover from it. I was just exhausted the whole time," the 2026 rookie revealed.

Coeliac disease is a chronic autoimmune illness that causes an individual's immune system to attack and damage the small intestine's lining should gluten be consumed.

Once diagnosed following the usual avenues of blood tests and potentially a biopsy of the small intestine, the only treatment is to adhere to a strict gluten-free diet for life.

Opening up on how his diagnosis impacted his dreams of making it to F1, Lindblad shared that the disease even stunted his growth as a teenager.

"Obviously with coeliac you can’t absorb nutrients, which meant I wasn’t growing. I’m actually the same height now as I was when I was 13," he said.

"My little brother, who is that age now, is already taller than me. He loves his rugby."

Despite the challenges of learning to deal with the condition, Lindblad added that the lack of a growth spurt when he was 13 may have gone on to help him as a racing driver.

Ironically, being smaller still carries a slight advantage in F1, and the 5ft 8in Lindblad still managed to find a positive when sharing his diagnosis story in the interview.

The Racing Bulls driver concluded his thoughts on his health battle by saying with a smile: "Everything happens for a reason right?"

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