Lewis Hamilton’s former coach, Dino Chiesa, warned Arvid Lindblad that he must change his temperament to succeed in Formula 1 while comparing him to Hamilton.
Chiesa has worked with both drivers, Hamilton during his karting years, and Lindblad during his phenomenal rise through the same system.
Training drivers at a crucial stage in their careers, Chiesa sees the raw talent in his young proteges; moulding and refining them ahead of the next phase of their Motorsport journey.
No driver is perfect, but Chiesa has seen first hand the traits that separate a good driver from an all time-great, having coached Hamilton and rival Nico Rosberg.
Praising Lindblad, Chiesa highlighted his strengths as a driver and his ability to adapt.
He is a very smooth and clever driver, ” he said to The Sun.
“That was very positive because he can change his driving style if he needs to.”
“He learns quickly and is a technical driver, adapting his braking or style to suit different tyres or chassis,” “He is also very quick in the rain.”
Arvid Lindblad draws comparisons to Lewis Hamilton – with a warning
Chiesa then compared Britain’s latest F1 rookie to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, praising his aggression and ability to pass rivals.
“I would say he is more like Lewis. Nico was very polite and more willing to accept a second-place finish than Lewis or Arvid.
“Arvid is really aggressive in races; he doesn’t wait or calculate everything. When he reaches another driver, he overtakes immediately. However, because he is clever, he doesn’t get involved in many incidents or big crashes.”
But Lindblad appears to have a chink in his armour: his attitude during difficult moments.
Chiesa described an incident after a karting race that demonstrated a need to “learn to count to ten and think longer term, traits he argues are missing.
“He spent three very good years with me, but when he finished P2 behind a teammate, he immediately said to me, ‘f*** you, you gave the best engine to him’.
“He’s only 14, but if you think like that, your career will go wrong. You have to accept what you have and drive and make sure you’re at your best…
“He will be good for Red Bull, but sometimes he needs to learn to count to ten before he says something because he can be really passionate and maybe say the wrong thing.
“You have to be polite when you arrive in F1. When you become a Verstappen or Hamilton, you can say what you want, but until then, you have to be more political, and Arvid is no politician.”
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