Irish teenager Dunne to drive for McLaren in Monza F1 practice

Alex Dunne, the Republic of Ireland’s driver, will start his second Formula 1 practice session at the Italian Grand Prix.

On Friday at Monza, the championship-leading MCL39 will drive the title-scorpion.

The 19-year-old impressed with his fourth-place finish in his first F1 practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.

Dunne became the first Irish driver to compete in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years by winning the Red Bull Ring.

The development driver’s McLaren commitments will be matched by the Italian F2 championship’s 11th round.

Leonardo Fornaroli leads by 30 points and sits fifth in the standings with two victories, including those in Bahrain and Imola.

Dunne claimed to be “really excited” to be driving the MCL39 at Monza.

“To do it again at Monza, a track that is so historic, is going to put a big smile on my face,” said the former Austrian champion.

When Dunne set a time of just 0. 06 seconds to Piastri for his first McLaren appearance at the Red Bull Ring, he impressed.

He described it as having “the best day of his life,” and he will now have the opportunity to participate in McLaren’s second of four mandatory practice sessions for rookie drivers.

Dunne will have two appearances while Pato O’Ward will drive in his native country of Mexico while driving in Italy.

Although the location and driver for McLaren’s fourth rookie session of the year have not yet been confirmed, the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi appears to be a strong possibility given a number of street circuits and weekend sprints.

Dunne has won two races while competing for Rodin Motorsport in the Formula 2 division after winning the Austrian Grand Prix, but he is now only fifth overall.

He won the feature race in Austria after finishing second on the road due to a penalty for a start procedure infringement, but he was disqualified for excessive plank wear on his car.