Arvid Lindblad turned a back-of-the-grid start into a points finish at Sepang, charging from 22nd to 10th in a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Racing Bulls driver faced a difficult task before the race had even begun after taking new power-unit components that resulted in a combined 30-place grid penalty, sending him to the final spot on the 22-car grid.
But in a race shaped by heavy rain, changing conditions, multiple pit stops and Safety Car periods, Lindblad kept himself in contention before snatching the final championship point on the last lap.
The race was twice delayed as heavy rain hit Sepang, with Formula One facing its first wet-weather race conditions of the season.
Racing Bulls committed to intermediate tyres for the start, a decision Team Principal Alan Permane said proved to be the correct one given the amount of standing water and spray.
While team-mate Liam Lawson surged from 11th to finish seventh, Lindblad faced a more difficult afternoon as he struggled with greater tyre degradation.
Despite that, the 19-year-old continued to make progress from the rear of the field and entered the closing stages within reach of the points.
His persistence was rewarded on the final lap when he overtook Nico Hulkenberg to take 10th, completing a 12-place recovery and ensuring both Racing Bulls cars finished in the points.
“Today was definitely action packed with all the pit stops and Safety Cars,” Lindblad said.
“We finished with an amazing result and the team did a really good job making all the right calls at the right moments, so massive credit to everyone.
“Even though I feel like I could have done a bit more on my side, there are definitely a lot of positives to take from today, especially as it was my first time driving in the wet.”
Permane praised Lindblad’s recovery after what he described as the more difficult race of the two Racing Bulls drivers.
“Arvid had a little bit of a tougher day, he suffered with a lot more tyre degradation than Liam did, but he’s had good pace all weekend and did a great job getting past Nico [Hulkenberg] on that final lap, bringing home that extra point.”
Lindblad’s result completed a strong afternoon for Racing Bulls, with Lawson’s seventh place giving the team a double points finish.
At the front, Max Verstappen took his first victory of the 2026 season for Red Bull ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from 18th to claim the final podium position for Ferrari.
For Lindblad, however, Sepang represented an impressive turnaround after entering Sunday knowing he would start at the very back regardless of his qualifying performance.
From 22nd to 10th, a final-lap overtake and a championship point made sure the rookie left Malaysia with something to show for the fightback.
“We’re now moving on to the final leg of the triple-header, and with Singapore being a Sprint weekend, I’m hoping we can pick up some more points and have another interesting race.”
