Why an F1 rookie was “a little bit sad” after season-best-matching qualifying result

Arvid Lindblad admits he was “a little bit sad” to qualify ninth for the Formula 1 Canadian GP after thinking earlier in the session that he might do even better.

The Racing Bulls rookie impressed from the start of the Montreal weekend at a track he’d never seen before, qualifying in ninth for the sprint and then scoring a point with eighth.

He repeated that ninth-place performance in the main qualifying, matching his season-best from Australia, to once again be best of the rest behind the eight drivers from the top four teams.

“It's been good this weekend,” he said when asked by Crash.net about his progress.

“I was told before the weekend this could arguably be one of the hardest races so far this year, because it is a very challenging track, and it is a sprint weekend.

“But the team have done a really good job to give me a car that I've been comfortable in.

“I think I've done a good job, getting up to speed and figuring things out, always chipping away. So, yeah, I'm happy with how the weekend has gone so far.

“Part of me was a little bit disappointed – I was hearing sort of P5, P6, P7 during Q1 and Q2, so to end up P9 was a little bit sad!

“But at the same time I think it was inevitable when the top teams figured everything out, so I think it was the best that was possible – best of the rest. Looking forward to tomorrow now."

Lindblad said the Faenza team’s latest upgrade package, including a modified floor and beam wing, had worked well.

“A solid step,” he said. “I was quite surprised to be honest.

“We had an upgrade for Miami, and it wasn't as good as we hoped.

“In the end, we were out in Q1; we weren't that competitive, and I was slightly more on the pessimistic side coming into this weekend.

“But full credit to the team, they've done a phenomenal job. From the first lap in FP1, I felt really comfortable, and we've been fast.

“Every lap that I've done this weekend has been quick, so the team have done a phenomenal job to bounce back from Miami.”

Lindblad is one of the few drivers on the grid who has done some proper testing with a 2026 car in the wet, and with rain expected for Sunday’s race, that could be an advantage.

“I think for sure that day that I did in Suzuka will be handy tomorrow if it's wet,” he said.

“In the end, there's so many unknowns, there's so many things that are going to be out of our control that can just happen.

“So I think the most important thing is to be open-minded and figure things out on the fly, because there's going to be a lot going on tomorrow.”