Arvid Lindblad donates Belgian GP helmet raising £60,000 for Will MacIntyre's iMRI campaign

Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Arvid Lindblad has raised £60,000 for Will MacIntyre's campaign to fund a state-of-the-art intra-operative MRI (iMRI) scanner at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, following a silent auction of his Belgian Grand Prix helmet.

The funds will directly support Project iMRI, a £6million fundraising campaign spearheaded by 18-year-old British racing driver MacIntyre.

MacIntyre's promising motorsport career was abruptly paused in late 2025. Following eight months of hospitalisation, including multiple brain and lung biopsies and cycles of chemotherapy, MacIntyre was diagnosed with an extremely rare neurovascular condition called XLP1. The only known cure is a stem cell transplant.

MacIntyre and his family, working with Cambridge University Hospitals and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), are now campaigning to fund a purpose-built iMRI facility for Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Stepping up to support his long-time friend, Lindblad donated his race-worn Belgian Grand Prix helmet to a silent auction, which has since sold for £60,000.

"I’ve known Will for nearly 10 years, back from karting together in the UK when we were about 9/10," Lindblad shared on Instagram alongside photos of himself with MacIntyre.

"What he’s been through this past year is pretty crazy - at 18 he went from racing to constantly being in and out of hospital for scans, operations and chemo before finding out he has an incredibly rare condition called XLP1. And through it all, he’s still just Will - competitive, always a laugh and somehow still thinking about other ppl.

"He’s now helping raise £6m for an intra-operative MRI scanner in Cambridge which could make a massive difference to ppl going through brain surgery. I’ve donated one of my race helmets to the auction to help raise as much as possible.

"We’ve known each other since we were kids, so I really hope everyone can get behind this."

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- The Motorsport.com Team