Monza F1 outing a chance to show what I can do – Dunne

Lewis Hamilton was just ahead of him in a Ferrari as Alex Dunne for the first time entered the pitlane and exited the garage.

The 19-year-old Irishman admitted it was “pretty cool” being following the seven-time champion onto the circuit but doesn’t idolize any of the current grid because, after all, he is their peer.

He had been having a long time about it, and he caught the attention of the F1 paddock at the Austrian Grand Prix in June by posting the fourth-fastest time in the practice session, finishing only 0.06 seconds behind McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

He later claimed that it was “the best day of my life.” Who could blame him, exactly?

“It was a very special day for me,” he said. Even seeing the Irish flags waving outside the pitlane, Dunne claimed to BBC Sport NI.

Being on track and participating in an F1 session with the world’s best drivers was super cool, despite the outcome.

At Monza, one of the most storied circuits on the Formula 1 calendar, he will now be able to do it once more for the Italian Grand Prix.

When he replaces Piastri in first practice, it will be another chance to show the F1 paddock what he can do.

“I set the bar fairly high for the first one in Austria, so I’ll be disappointed if I don’t do better than I did there,” McLaren’s development director Dunne continued.

In the F1 car and in the simulator, I always feel secure. Every time I’m driving, I improve, which is always a nice feeling.

A FP1 session is intended to demonstrate your capabilities, but not to try to be a hero, in my opinion.

There is no point in acting differently and making yourself look worse for it because you’ve acted differently.

Dunne is aware that his main focus is on Formula 2 despite his Formula 1 successes and the additional attention that has come his way since Austria.

With four rounds of renaming, starting at Monza, where he will combine his McLaren outing with his F2 commitments, the Rodin Motorsport driver is in contention for the title. He is 30 points behind leader Leonardo Fornaroli.

“I’ve always said that my main goal is F2 and doing a good job,” Dunne continued.

The best chance I have of winning F2 is with how things are right now, according to the author.

Every time I drive into a F1 car, it almost feels like an audition, and it’s important to do well to demonstrate both that I can focus on the right things in F2 as well.

Without two significant penalties that were beyond his control, a margin greater than the 25 points offered for a win in a feature race might seem like a lot to make up, but Dunne would still have been in charge of the championship.

Dunne would have moved up from fifth to first in the standings if both results had been true, but he claims there is no point in getting too upset about past events that he can’t change.

As long as everything we do now is flawless from beginning to end, Dunne, who has won the feature races in Bahrain and Imola, said, “I don’t see why we can’t win those points back.”

The things that have prevented us from achieving those points aren’t related to pace and performance, and they are the things that are the simplest to fix, “I don’t think it’s a bad place to be.”

With only eight races remaining in each of the four rounds, Dunne thinks Fornaroli can still match his title rival, who won it last year.

Yes, it’s realistic, but it’s challenging. Fornaroli is currently in the lead and has a strong championship winning streak.

“Over the course of the final four rounds, I’m going to have to perform very well to catch him.” It’s possible, in my opinion. I believe the team and I will move the fastest when everything is right.

Dunne has established himself as one of the rising stars of Irish sport, and with that, a growing fan base, as the first Irish driver to take part in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years.

He claimed that it has only improved since Austria when it first came up against the podium in the grandstand after his feature race win in Bahrain.

After visiting the Mondello Historic Festival in August, he discovered how important the support was here.

In contrast to last year, when he would walk around the paddock “almost like a normal person,” Dunne was the star attraction this time around and drew a lot of attention.

Dunne chuckled and remarked, “That weekend was pretty crazy.

I was able to walk around the paddock like a member of the group, though some people who knew me might have asked for a picture.

“I just got surrounded by everyone, but it’s cool to see,” I said as the big interview on stage came to a close.