We’re speaking on the plush resort Racing Bulls have picked as their base for the 2 pre-season checks in Bahrain, which adopted a ‘shakedown’ in Spain. It’s not gone 8am, and his subsequent appointment is an engineering assembly, earlier than going out on monitor later within the day.
Asked if he feels prepared for the large time in F1, he says: “Yeah, I think so. Obviously, it’s a big step from F2, especially this year. There’s regulation changes and everything is very different.
“But I’ve been working actually laborious with the staff on the sim (simulator) on the manufacturing unit, clearly additionally making an attempt to utilise these three checks that we now have.
“That’s a big benefit for me this year. Normally, there’s only one, whereas this year there’s three. So that really helps me to get up to speed. I’m really trying to utilise these tests, and I’m looking forward to getting on track in Melbourne.”
Racing Bulls staff principal Alan Permane, who has labored with a large number of high drivers, together with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, has been filled with reward to this point.
“He’s done a fantastic job,” Permane says. “People often ask me, ‘What do you look for? What do you need in a young driver?’ And of course, the first thing you need is for them to be quick. We’re very comfortable with that, we know he’s got the speed.
“But additionally on high of that, he is bringing a number of inquisitiveness, he is asking many questions, his debriefs are nice, he is doing the whole lot we ask of him for the time being.”
F1 is a brutal business, with little sentiment. Drivers either achieve or they’re out. And nowhere is more ruthless than Red Bull.
You might expect Lindblad to be feeling a little pressure mixed in with the obvious excitement. But he says not.
“I would not actually say strain,” he says. “If I’m being trustworthy, that is what I’ve labored in the direction of my entire life.
“So I’m excited to be here, and all I’m really thinking about at the moment is trying to work with the team, trying to understand the cars to get the best performance I can, trying to extract the most out of the package from the beginning.”
