“I said to myself at the start of the year, ‘what if I never get to drive a Formula 1 car?’.”
Alex Dunne didn’t need to worry.
After stepping into Formula 2 this year – the category below F1 – the 19-year-old McLaren development driver has impressed with his speed and leads the standings with two victories to his name.
That form led to a first Formula 1 outing in a private event at Zandvoort in the Netherlands in May.
And now he will become the first Irish driver to participate on a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years when he deputises for Lando Norris in the opening practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix.
“When me and my dad got told we would be able to drive a F1 car this year, my dad got a little bit emotional and I laughed at him,” joked Dunne.
“Nah, I got emotional as well. It’s a big thing.
Driving a Formula 1 car at any time is a big deal, and doing it on a Grand Prix weekend in a championship-leading car is a huge opportunity.
McLaren says it is not only a reward for his form, but a development opportunity for the teenager.
Dunne has a bigger picture to focus on too. When he pulls back into the garage, he will swap the McLaren MCL39 for his Formula 2 car and it’s back to the day job as he tries to win the championship.
He currently leads the standings after six rounds, largely thanks two victories in Bahrain and Imola, a pole position in Monaco and an impressive recovery drive from 19th to second in Barcelona.
Dunne may only be 19, but he recognised the bigger picture in front of him.
“It’s important not to focus too much on F1, it’s important to focus on F2 and trying to do as well as I can.
“If I get too wrapped up in it I can quickly forget about what I need to do this year.
“The whole point of focusing on F2 and making sure I have good results this year, is so hopefully then at the end of the year there is an opportunity to be a F1 driver.
‘It was amazing’
Wednesday, 7 May is a day that Dunne will never forget as he stepped into a Formula 1 car for the first time at Zandvoort.
After watching the team’s regular drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who are first and second in the F1 standings, it was Dunne’s turn to hit the circuit.
“To have that opportunity was pretty amazing.
“McLaren have made it pretty clear that they believe in me to do well and they have been really pushing me and supporting me.
“I got to watch Lando and Oscar drive and speak to them in detail to see what I could learn.
“There’s a lot to learn from both of them and I can take that forward with me.”
Dunne accepts “there’s no guarantee I’ll make it to F1” despite his upwards career trajectory.
“It was slightly easier to adapt to than I expected. The car was unbelievable. The grip, the brakes, everything,” Dunne said on his Zandvoort experience.
“Even in a straight line it feels fast. When you are racing in F2 or F3, it doesn’t necessarily feel that quick when you put your foot down.
“But when I put my foot down in the F1 car, I was like ‘wow, this is pretty quick’.
“Even the G-forces you pull through the corners, at the end of the day my neck was a little bit sore.
‘Wow, this is actually going to happen’
Dunne’s racing CV is impressive. He dominated the British F4 championship in 2022 and in the same year he finished second in Italian F4, finishing second to Mercedes F1 driver Kimi Antonelli.
He then finished second in the British GB3 championship in his rookie year, and impressed on his debut at the Macau Grand Prix before he stepped up to the F1 support series in 2024 with MP Motorsport in Formula 3.
He claimed two podiums, including one at the final round in Monza, but was 14th in the standings in an up-and-down campaign.
“It’s nice this year to be back to where I think I should be. I think it proves what was happening last year wasn’t because of me.”
At only the second round in Bahrain, Dunne dominated the feature race to become the first Irish driver to win in Formula 2. It was normal service resumed.
“I always expected it to be good, I maybe didn’t expect it to be this good.
“It was over the last couple of laps where it was like, ‘this is actually going to happen pretty early’.
“When I pulled in at the end of the race and seen the team, my dad, Zak Brown [McLaren CEO] and all of McLaren standing there, it was very nice.
Another impressive victory followed at Imola, as Dunne carved his way through the order to win his second race of the year.
At the following round, Dunne set a stunning lap to take pole position around the famous streets of Monaco. However, he was penalised for a first-lap collision and handed a 10-place grid penalty for the next race in Barcelona.
Starting in 19th, Dunne capitalised on a late pit stop for fresh tyres to finish second and regain the championship lead he lost in Monaco.
In Dunne’s words, that type of recovery shows the “mental resilience” required to fight for the title – both as a driver and his Rodin Motorsport team.
“That’s something I can be proud of, each time we have had something difficult or go wrong, we have come back and done something pretty special.
“The fact we are able to forget about the little things that have happened and bounce back straight away is a very good quality to have.”
Dunne acknowledges he is in a good place in both his career and the Formula 2 standings, “but it’s important that it’s after 14 rounds and not six”.
“It’s important to stay consistent, not try and do anything crazy, have good qualifying and score good points in the sprint race and the feature.
“If I keep doing what I’m doing, and keep chipping away at it, then hopefully the opportunities will come.”
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