“He Was the Only One”: Arvid Lindblad Felt ‘Connected’ With Lewis Hamilton for ‘Being a Man of Color’

F1 was and continues to be one of the least diverse sports, with Lewis Hamilton being the sport’s first-ever Black driver. And in the lower Formulas, it is not much different. Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad, who has a connection to Indian ancestry from his mother’s side, naturally did not have many role models to look up to who shared his roots as a person of color.

So, there was a natural connection to Hamilton for him. Hamilton has been a champion for inclusion and equality in this sport for a long time. And growing up, Lindblad explained that he always felt a connection to the seven-time world champion because of it.

Speaking to the Inside Line F1 podcast, the 2025 F2 driver revealed, “I’ve always felt some sense of connection to Lewis. Obviously being a man of color at the time when sort of I started watching Formula 1 he was the only one really.”

For the 17-year-old, there have been many moments in his life that he has been inspired by the #44 driver. For instance, he revealed to the hosts of the podcast that he was really taken by the Briton’s first interaction with then McLaren boss, Ron Dennis.

Hamilton had met Dennis at an awards ceremony as an aspiring F1 driver and told the man that he would drive for him very soon. And looking at the Briton manifest that into reality, Lindblad went up to McLaren’s Lando Norris back in 2022 and told him that he would be driving next to him in F1 by 2026.

How Hamilton and Max Verstappen have shaped Lindblad’s road to F1

During his conversation with the hosts, the British-Swede driver was asked to point out the differences he’s seen between the likes of Hamilton and Verstappen. Naturally, being part of the Red Bull academy, the 17-year-old has seen the Dutchman operate from close quarters.

While Lindblad couldn’t point out major areas of differences, he lauded both drivers for their elite talent behind the wheel of an F1 car. However, the amount of success Verstappen has enjoyed at the age of only 27 is something that really baffles Lindblad.

In fact, Lindblad also explained that Verstappen hasn’t let that fame and glory get to his head. He described the #1 driver as a down-to-earth man who has been very helpful in helping him out as well.

“He [Verstappen] has been really great to talk to and really amazing person to know. He’s been really down to earth and just been really open to help. If I had a couple questions, I’d send him a message, and he would reply really instantly,” Lindblad added.