Red Bull junior touted as the 'next Max Verstappen' takes another step to gaining a super license

Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad, touted as the 'next Max Verstappen' won his second 2025 Formula Regional Oceania Championship race on January 18. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hailed the young driver as the next big talent in the driver academy. He will compete in Formula Two in the 2025 season.

Lindblad took the pole position and brought home the race win. On his Instagram story, the British driver reposted a video of himself by Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand.

Still from Arvid Lindblad's Instagram story (@arvid.lindblad)

Speaking about his performance in the race, the Red Bull junior said (via GPBlog):

"It was not an easy race. It was quite long, that’s especially how it felt in the car. I knew it was going to be difficult from lap one or lap two – I wasn’t very happy. I had to really try and adapt and make the most of the car underneath me.

It was not easy out there but thank you to the team because they did a really good job today. I was struggling. It wasn’t easy in the car and I had to adapt. That’s the way it was."

There are still two more races remaining on the weekend with the first-place finisher getting 18 points, while P2 and P3 will get 14 and 12 points respectively on their super license. 'The next Max Verstappen' Lindblad would be eligible to race in F1 in 2025 with the required number of points to his name. He currently has 25 points on his FIA super license.

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Red Bull junior hails Max Verstappen for his support

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad has said he found Max Verstappen "very impressive" on the racetrack after briefly interacting with the reigning four-time world champion.

Speaking to RacingNews365, the soon-to-be F2 driver said:

“Max Verstappen’s always very impressive on the racetrack, and to deal with him, he’s always been really good to me. He’s obviously very busy, but he still takes the time. We speak, not that much, a bit, whenever I’ve been in the hospitality.

I’ve sent him the odd message just to have some advice, and he’s always replied very quickly, or been very friendly. It’s not like he’s sent a very short, brief answer. He’s gone into quite a lot of detail and really tried to help me."

Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, if Lindblad makes rapid progress in the junior categories, he could find himself racing alongside the Dutch driver.