Red Bull Racing have reportedly applied to the FIA to receive a Super Licence exemption for star junior Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad is viewed as the team's next best hope since Max Verstappen burst onto the scene at 17 years old, and it's hoped that he can take up the role of reserve driver in Formula One this season.
However, as the British/Swedish driver is still only 17, he is not yet eligible to apply for the FIA Super Licence, meaning he would have to wait until his August birthday.
He has already accumulated enough points to obtain the Super Licence, so the Milton Keynes-based team is reportedly taking advantage of a new rule that was introduced last season.
The rule, which stipulates that 17-year-olds could apply for an exception to the age rule under exceptional circumstances, allowed Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli to receive the licence before his 18th birthday.
The argument that Red Bull will likely put forward is the fact that Lindblad finished fourth in his rookie Formula 3 season, including winning both sprint and feature races at Silverstone, and followed that up by winning the Formula Regional Oceania Championship this winter.
His strong performances in Formula machinery have seen him promoted to Formula 2, and his future looks set to be in Formula One as early as 2026 if he shows enough potential in F2.
But Red Bull would be keen to have Lindblad around the F1 team more often before giving him a sear on the grid, something that other junior drivers, including current Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, did not have.
Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull Racing and head of its junior program, confirmed this when speaking to German news outlet Auto Motor und Sport.
He explained: "We have Ayumu Iwasa as our reserve driver. Lindblad has the points for the super license. We also completed a 300km test with him in a Formula One car at Imola, so he could theoretically step in."
"But he doesn't turn 18 until August. That's why we're currently applying to the FIA for an exemption for the super license. Antonelli got it, too. We see no reason why the same shouldn't be true for Lindblad. Then we'd already have two drivers on the bench."
He added: "Clearly, [Hadjar] is a fast man, but he hasn't driven much in Formula 1 cars. No comparison to [Jack] Doohan, [Oliver] Bearman or Antonelli. They've certainly driven ten times more Formula 1 cars than Hadjar. That's why we're rethinking things."
"We have to pay Honda for extra miles - that's why we were severely restricted in the TPC tests. But we're pushing ahead with that now. Our Arvid Lindblad will be racing with significantly more Formula 1 kilometers than Hadjar."
