Photo: Race Pictures

Lindblad celebrates F1 promotion with F2 Sprint victory in Abu Dhabi

14:01, 06 Dec

Updated: 14:04, 06 Dec

byKada Sarkozi

Arvid Lindblad got back to winning ways in Formula 2 after his seat for the 2026 Formula 1 season was announced on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the British talent will drive for Racing Bulls the following season.

Now with a seat secured in F1, Lindblad also won the Sprint Race in Abu Dhabi ahead of Joshua Durksen. This was the youngster's third victory of the season.

Fellow Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov finished in third place claiming his first-ever Formula 2 podium.

As it happened

Lindblad started the Sprint Race from pole position, and kept the lead into Turn 1. Competing in his second F2 weekend, Lindblad's Campos Racing teammate Nikola Tsolov gained two positions and was up into third place during the opening laps.

AIX Racing driver Durksen tried to stay close to Lindblad, and was within DRS range for several laps but was not close enough to launch an attack.

The Virtual Safety Car made its first appearance on Lap 8 after John Bennett's engine failure. The marshals could remove the Van Amersfoort Racing car within one lap.

After the restart, Durksen had to go wide to avoid making contact with Lindblad at Turn 12. As a result, the Paraguayan talent was outside of DRS range.

Fighting for P8 on Lap 14, Jak Crawford and Gabriele Mini first made a bit of contact into Turns 6 and 7, and then went side-by-side into Turn 12. Exiting the latter corner, Mini's car was also briefly launched into the air by the kerb, but luckily, the young Italian could continue.

On Lap 17, Dino Beganovic also had a hard-fought battle with Oliver Goethe at Turn 12, while Crawford gained another position after getting past Irish talent Alex Dunne.

The American's eventful day continued on Lap 20. He first made contact in the chance with Williams junior Victor Martins, and then overtook him into Turn 9, getting up to sixth place. The debris flying off Crawford's car also caused a brief VSC.

Full Results | F2 Sprint Race - Abu Dhabi GP

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