McLaren has confirmed that Irish driver Alex Dunne will take over Lando Norris`s car for the first free practice session (FP1) at the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Dunne, who has no previous F1 race weekend experience, will make his debut opportunity in the opening session on Friday at the Red Bull Ring circuit.
Despite being a rookie, the young driver currently leads the Formula 2 championship standings. He has been a member of McLaren`s Driver Development Programme since the previous year.
Dunne expressed his excitement, stating, “It`s an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria.” His participation marks the first time an Irish driver has competed in an F1 weekend session since Ralph Firman in 2003.
He added, “I`m really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the set-up for the race weekend ahead.”
Dunne also mentioned his preparation, which included “taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience.”
F1 regulations require teams to provide rookie drivers with at least two practice sessions per car throughout the season. McLaren is fulfilling this mandatory requirement by giving Dunne his initial opportunity in their current car this year.
The Red Bull Ring is considered a relatively straightforward circuit compared to others, meaning the main drivers don`t always need all three practice sessions to feel comfortable before qualifying.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella commented, “It`s great to be able to give Alex the opportunity to run in Free Practice 1 and for him to get valuable time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as part of his development.”
Stella added that the team is “pleased to be working with him more closely and for his support across the weekend, where he will be providing useful feedback to help with the car`s set-up.”
He concluded, “The rookie sessions are fantastic for seeing the talent of tomorrow and enabling that rare chance to get time in a current car, so we look forward to seeing him on track.”
Background: Alex Dunne`s Rise
Born in Offaly on November 11, 2005, Dunne rapidly progressed through karting before entering Formula 4 at the minimum eligible age of 15.
He achieved a pole position and a podium finish in his F4 single-seater debut and went on to dominate the 2022 British F4 season, drawing increased attention.
In 2022, he also finished as runner-up in Italian F4, followed by a second-place finish in the GB3 Championship in 2023. Despite facing some challenges in F3, McLaren signed him in May 2024, leading to his step up to F2 with Rodin Motorsport this year.
Although not initially seen as a likely title contender, he currently leads the F2 standings heading into Austria, boosted by strong Feature Race wins in Bahrain and Imola, along with two additional podium finishes.
However, he was judged responsible for a multi-car collision at Turn 1 during the Monaco Feature Race involving Victor Martins. Following intense social media criticism, Dunne removed apps from his phone.
Recounting the experience, he said, “`I got a lot of stuff after Monaco, normally I`m not someone who reads things and gets annoyed by them.`”
He added, “`But I think an hour after the race, I deleted social media off my phone because I`ve never received such bad messages in my life. A lot of the stuff I got was really bad and quite upsetting, to be honest.`”
McLaren team principal Stella spoke with Dunne after the incident. Dunne showed resilience, recovering from a grid penalty in the Spanish F2 Sprint race to finish second (from 19th) and taking fifth in the Feature Race, maintaining his championship lead.
Stella praised Dunne, saying, “`Alex is doing very well, he`s a very fast driver, very talented, and the situation he had in Monaco was one of those situations where you can learn a lot.`”
He drew parallels, noting, “`Multiple world champions went through situations that were very important to fine-tune the way they go racing.`”
Stella affirmed McLaren`s support: “`We had good conversations with Alex to reaffirm our complete support to his talent, to the championship he`s fighting for. We always see a very mature person.`”
He highlighted Dunne`s response: “`The way he raced was an immediate response to the situation he had in Monaco and the pressure that came from these social media comments. That`s something that makes me very proud of him.`”
Stella also addressed the social media aspect: “`I think we need to realise that we live in a difficult world in which people can attack other people really with no foundation, sometimes no competence, so we`re completely behind Alex, not only on track but also off-track from this point of view.`”
He concluded, “`I just felt a little bit for him but I also felt very proud of him in showing his reaction, being genuine, natural – but for me, a call to our sense of responsibility overall.`”
Marcus Prine