Arvid Lindblad critical of "extreme" Zandvoort F1 penalty

Arvid Lindblad has labelled his Dutch Grand Prix "extreme" after he was caught up in the lap one mayhem sparked by Max Verstappen's race-ending crash. 

Racing Bulls driver Lindblad has enjoyed a strong 2026 campaign to date, with the sole rookie on the Formula 1 grid currently 11th in the standings and with best finishes of seventh place, scored in Monaco and Silverstone. 

But his Zandvoort weekend was overshadowed by a lap one penalty, after he was judged to have completed an overtake under double-waved yellows. While this is clearly against the regulations, Verstappen's incident resulted in drivers dramatically altering their pace in avoidance, creating severe speed differences as drivers sought to escape the mayhem unscathed. 

Unfortunately for Lindblad, he passed Pierre Gasly going into Turn 1, which saw him handed a drive-through penalty. 

"We were in a really good position after the first lap," he said. "I think the penalty's a bit harsh. I think we can all agree it's quite extreme. 

"But fine, it is what it is; there's no point speculating about it now. It's done. 

"It's just a bit sad because I think that kind of ruined our race. But then after that, we actually executed quite a strong one. There are a few things we could have done better, but regardless, it was a very good race. 

"I'm just sad not to get any points, because I think I and the team, we deserved that. No doubt, without the penalty, we would have been P8."

Lindblad was not alone in feeling that his penalty was a steep one, with F1TV pundit Alex Brundle in agreement with the Racing Bulls driver. 

"I think it is harsh. The accepted way to go about it as a driver is if you're effectively avoiding the crash, you avoid the crash and you do everything that you can to make sure that you don't become part of the accident," said Brundle.

"It's difficult to then add in extra things that the drivers have to be aware of during an incident to make sure that they don't then pass a car secondarily to that.

"It depends how far you are away from the incident. But if you haven't actually passed a yellow flag and if you're actually trying to get around the incident, I think it's harsh then to penalise you for passing another driver while you're actually taking evasive action."