Formula 2 Report: Lindblad shines in final bow before F1 debut 

Having qualified P10, Lindblad started on Sprint Pole—and he took full advantage, streaking off into the distance at the start. By contrast, Sebastian Montoya dropped like a stone from P6 to P16, while Dino Beganovic shut the door on Victor Martins to hold onto P5.

Despite turns six & nine turning into an absolute overtaking-fest and John Bennett’s engine blowing up, causing a virtual safety car, Lindblad kept his distance to take an impressive third victory in F2. Following the race, Campos team boss Adrian Campos Jr. was full of praise for the youngster, who will be joining Racing Bulls in Formula 1 next year.

Campos Jr. said: “I am very surprised about Arvid. He has very limited experience, and he is still able to put the car up front. Every time that nothing strange happens, or he has the luck that he needs to be up there, it's impressive; it's very impressive.

“He is certainly a guy that has things extremely clear in his mind; he knows what he wants,” added Campos Jr. “It's always very nice to have a win in the last race weekend of the year and the last race weekend with him, and I am sure that he has a very amazing future ahead.”

The drivers’ title was sealed last week, with Leo Fornaroli following in Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell’s footsteps, winning F2 & F3 in consecutive seasons, but the teams’ crown was still on the line heading into the Feature Race. As such, Invicta vs. Hitech added some much-needed spice to the season finale—and the last on-track action of the year certainly delivered.

There was drama from the off. Second in the drivers’ standings, Jak Crawford was given a bizarre 10-second penalty after he started the race with misfitted tyres. Fornaroli, who seemingly took it easy on his final F2 weekend, lost ground to Beganovic and Josh Durksen off the line, dropping through the field.

Dunne then clattered a curb and crashed into Martins. As his stricken Rodin lay sprawled across the track, Cian Shields ran into him, bringing out the safety car. On the restart, Rafael Villagomez pulled a beautiful sweeping move on Luke Browning before the race split into two. Beganovic and Roman Stanek boxed at the same time; it was Hitech vs Invicta in the pits, while the hard tyre runners stayed out.

As they returned to the track, squabbling and swapping places, Durksen swept through for the effective race lead. Out front, Fornaroli and Lindblad, both of whom will be in the F1 paddock next season, fought hard. But Montoya’s breakdown negated any gap they’d built to the early stoppers, so when they pitted two laps from the end, they dropped to P9 and P11.

It was great to see them going toe-to-toe one last time in the junior category. However, the plaudits on race day went to Stanek. He may have been outshone across the season by his teammate, but the Ferrari Academy driver did his part to bring home the title for Invicta.

Only Lindblad will jump straight into a Formula 1 seat next year, but that’s not to say it’s the end of the road for the other young guns on the grid. Last week, Fornaroli and Richard Verschoor were signed by McLaren, so they’ll be part of the newly crowned world champions’ development program. That’ll offer some much-needed exposure to the paddock (and the opportunities within).

Let’s not forget that Russell, Leclerc, and Piastri all started out as reserve drivers before going on to claim full seats. Crawford has also been confirmed as Aston Martin’s third driver for 2026, so he’ll be ideally placed to learn from one of the greats in Fernando Alonso.

Alex Dunne, who has been strongly linked to Alpine's Academy program, will remain in F2 with Rodin. Alongside Verschoor, he was the man to beat earlier in the season. He’ll be a strong contender next time out. The likes of Gabriele Mini, Ollie Goethe, and Shields have also been confirmed for 2026. Interestingly, so has IndyCar star Colton Herta.

His attempts to get to grips with European single-seater racing will surely grab headlines. As will Emerson Fittipaldi Jr.’s. Another relative of an F1 champion nears the big time. Next year, we should get an idea if he’s more of a Bruno Senna or a Nico Rosberg! Elsewhere, another Red Bull Junior, Nikola Tsolov, will also get a full drive next year; it’ll be fascinating to see how he does.

With so many talents joining the grid, the future of F2 (and indeed F1) is bright. If Lindblad’s Sprint win is anything to go by, Racing Bulls could have yet another star on their hands. The 2026 Formula 1 season is less than 90 days away, so we'll find out soon enough. March 8, 2026. Mark your calendars!