Arvid Lindblad Sent to Pit Lane for Miami Sprint
arvid lindblad will start the Miami Grand Prix sprint from the pit lane after Racing Bulls broke curfew and failed to put a cover on his car on Friday night. The FIA moved the 18-year-old Racing Bulls driver off the sprint grid hours before the race, after he had been due to line up 15th following Alex Albon’s grid penalty.
FIA Penalty in Miami
The governing body said the team’s failure to cover the car after Sprint Qualifying breached Article B3.4.2 a) of the 2026 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations. The FIA added that car 41 must start the Sprint from the pit lane under Article B3.5.3 b).
That ruling changes the order for the sprint immediately. Lindblad had qualified 16th and only moved up to P15 after Albon’s penalty, so the pit-lane start removes him from the grid he had been expecting to join for the short race.
Racing Bulls Curfew Breach
The FIA said team personnel from the VISA Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team were inside the circuit during a twelve hour and forty-six minute period that began at 20:14 on 01 May and ended three hours before the scheduled Sprint start at 09:00 on 02 May. The governing body said this was the first of the four individual exceptions permitted for the team during the 2026 Formula One Championship season.
Arvid Lindblad is 18 years old, the sole rookie this season, and has already taken a podium finish this year. He has also spoken about the adjustment period around this car, saying: “It is my first experience of a Formula 1 car, but in the end, I wouldn’t really say it’s an advantage because it’s very different for all of us,” and, “I think it’s been a challenge for all of us drivers and teams to get up to speed with.”
Alex Albon Grid Shift
Alex Albon’s penalty had already opened the way for Lindblad to start from P15 after qualifying 16th. The curfew breach reversed that gain before the Sprint even began, leaving the Racing Bulls driver to take the race from the pit lane instead of the grid slot he had earned on pace.
For Lindblad, the immediate change is simple: he no longer starts where qualifying and Albon’s penalty had placed him. For Racing Bulls, the FIA ruling leaves the team to absorb one of its permitted exceptions early in the 2026 Formula One Championship season, with the Sprint start already reset around the pit lane.
