racingnews365.com·
Arvid Lindblad recalls viral Lando Norris 'remember me' message
Arvid Lindblad has recalled his "funny little story" involving
Lando Norris, with a message from the F1 rookie to the reigning
world champion having gone viral five years ago. In 2021, at Adria
Karting Raceway in Italy, a video clip went viral of Lindblad
walking up to Norris and shaking his hand before telling the
McLaren driver, "Lando, I want you to remember me—I will see you in
five years." F1’s newest rookie was just 14 at the time and had yet
to race a single-seater, but fast-forward five years and Lindblad
is now preparing for his maiden campaign with Racing Bulls.
Supported by Red Bull, Lindblad has flown through the junior
categories, not spending more than a full season in any series on
his way to the pinnacle of motorsport. Due to the timing of his
promotion from Formula 2 to F1, the video of Lindblad and Norris
has resurfaced. Asked about how the moment came about, Lindblad
told talkSPORT : "Well, Lando was the one who came to the track. He
came to Adria—that was the track’s name—where there was a race
going on. "It was in Italy, and he was launching his [karting]
chassis, so he came to the track. And yeah, I told him that I’d see
him in five years. "Yeah, it’s a funny little story, and it’s all
sort of come back around now." Lindblad's confidence At just 18
years old, Lindblad is one of the youngest drivers to have reached
F1, underlining the level of belief the Red Bull family has in the
Briton. Lindblad has tasted victory in every category he has
competed in and holds the record as the youngest driver to win an
F2 race—he was 17 years, eight months, and 11 days old when he
secured the win in last year’s Jeddah Sprint race. He has always
believed that reaching F1 was possible and had the confidence to
make the comment to Norris five years ago, despite having yet to
race a single-seater. Addressing the level of confidence and belief
in his own ability to make the comment to Norris, Lindblad
explained: "Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I always had—I don't know
if it was blind hope or what—but I always had a sense of belief
that I could be in Formula 1 from the moment I started this journey
at the age of five. "I wanted to be in Formula 1, and I believed
that I could. And yeah, I had that belief when I was five. I had
that belief when I was 14, when I saw Lando that day, and I had
that belief all the way through to today. "So obviously, I'm very,
very happy—very excited—by the fact that it's sort of come true and
turned into a funny story. But yeah, I'm looking forward to
starting the new journey now."
