Lindblad auctions Belgian GP helmet to raise £60,000 for friend Will MacIntyre's iMRI campaign

Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Arvid Lindblad has raised £60,000 for Project iMRI after donating his race-worn Belgian Grand Prix helmet to a silent auction. The money goes directly toward the £6 million campaign led by 18-year-old British racing driver Will MacIntyre to fund a purpose-built intra-operative MRI (iMRI) facility at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

MacIntyre’s motorsport career was brought to an abrupt halt in late 2025 after eight months of hospitalisation that included multiple brain and lung biopsies and cycles of chemotherapy. He was eventually diagnosed with XLP1, an extremely rare neurovascular condition whose only known cure is a stem cell transplant. Despite his own battle, MacIntyre has channelled his energy into fundraising, working alongside Cambridge University Hospitals and the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) to bring a state-of-the-art iMRI scanner to the hospital — a piece of equipment that can significantly improve outcomes for patients undergoing brain surgery.

Lindblad, who has known MacIntyre for close to a decade, explained the personal motivation behind the donation in a post on Instagram. “I’ve known Will for nearly 10 years, back from karting together in the UK when we were about 9/10,” he wrote. “What he’s been through this past year is pretty crazy — at 18 he went from racing to constantly being in and out of hospital for scans, operations and chemo before finding out he has an incredibly rare condition called XLP1.”

Lindblad added that MacIntyre’s character has remained unchanged throughout his ordeal. “Through it all, he’s still just Will — competitive, always a laugh and somehow still thinking about other ppl,” he said. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, so I really hope everyone can get behind this.”

The £60,000 raised through the helmet auction represents a meaningful contribution toward the £6 million target, with MacIntyre and his family continuing to seek support from across the motorsport community and beyond.