The Bortoleto blueprint McLaren’s new rising star may seek to follow

McLaren has uncovered a new star in its junior ranks, with Irishman Alex Dunne winning his first race in the category to stake his claim for this year’s title.

Dunne claimed his first win in Formula 2 in just his second round in the category, controlling the 32-lap feature race to come home eight seconds clear of Luke Browning – an emphatic way to kick-start what looks like a serious championship challenge in his maiden season.

Alex Dunne becomes McLaren’s leading junior with Bahrain victory

McLaren signed Dunne to its driver development programme in mid-2024, during Dunne’s maiden F3 campaign. It was a mixed bag of a year for the then 18-year-old, with the Irishman picking up a reputation for being truly fast, but rough around the edges.

Finishing 14th in the standings, Dunne was frequently a challenger in the top 10, but misfortunes like disqualification at Imola due to non-compliant anti-roll bars, yellow flags at the end of Monaco qualifying, and not being sent out to make the most of drying conditions at Silverstone clouded the picture.

There were high points as well, such as his maiden series podium in Barcelona, and another at the final round at Monza, where he followed up his third place in the sprint with fourth place in the feature – underlining the progress he’d made to better balance his speed and aggression.

Stepping up to Formula 2 with Rodin Motorsport, Dunne’s fifth-place grid slot in Australia was ruined by a 10-place grid penalty for a technical issue that arose from pre-season testing, with the Irishman recovering to ninth before the feature race was cancelled due to the weather.

It was a weekend of what might have been, but there was little time to breathe as the F2 paddock packed up and flew to Bahrain for the second round. Qualifying fourth, underlining his pace once again, his race came undone in the closing laps as he came out second-best in some wheel-to-wheel battles with the likes of Arvid Lindblad and Luke Browning, before hitting the back of Ritomo Miyata attempting a late switchback on the final lap.

But Dunne made up for it in a big way in the feature race. Vaulting up to second place from his fourth-place grid slot, he stalked Leonardo Fornaroli and, on Lap 7, sliced past the Italian into Turn 1. From there, Dunne wasn’t to be seen again and romped home in dominant fashion.

“I was a bit disappointed with myself towards the end of the Sprint Race,” Dunne said after claiming the win in Formula 2’s 200th race.

“I think we started the Sprint Race really strong and then after the Safety Car, the second Safety Car restart, I think definitely didn’t do the job that I hold myself to a certain level, and I didn’t think it was at that level after the second Safety Car restart.

“So, I think to bounce back like that in a dominant fashion is kind of a nice way to redeem myself and pay back the team.”

Hearing the Irish national anthem playing on the podium, it was the first time Amhrán na bhFiann had been played in the environs of a Formula 1 race since Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s win for Jordan at Monza in 1999, and the first win for an Irish racing driver at such a level (from the Republic) since Derek Daly’s Donington win in European Formula 2 in 1979.

“It’s been pretty incredible,” Dunne told PlanetF1.com when asked about his pride in representing Ireland on the global motorsport stage.

“I think, to be an Irish driver at this level, representing McLaren is something that’s pretty special for me – not only for me but also for my whole family.

“Realistically, towards the end of my karting career, I never really expected to get this far. I think there were a couple of times when we were very close to stopping it all because, financially, we’d been struggling.

“So, to have so much support from home and from McLaren and the people around me who’ve pushed me to get to where I am today is a very big thing.

“I couldn’t be happier to be representing Ireland at this level and, not only that, to be racing at the front as well is quite a special thing.”

The win moved Dunne into second in the Drivers’ Championship, a point behind Fornaroli, and he moved into the joint lead after his podium finish in the sprint race in Jeddah, although then slipped down to fourth overall with eighth place in the Saudi feature.

18 points off the championship lead after the first two rounds, all the signs are that Dunne is making the step expected of him upon arriving in Formula 2 – to the point where this writer has heard of another prominent driver academy expressing some regret at having not snapped him up when he was available…

Is there a path forward for Alex Dunne with McLaren?

The question mark over the Irishman, having committed to McLaren, is whether or not there’s a clear path forward at present – with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri under long-term contracts at McLaren, there’s no obvious way on to the F1 grid, at least with McLaren.

Norris is under contract until, at least, the end of 2027, with Piastri having just signed a multi-year contract extension to stay at Woking until, at least, the end of 2028. Short of McLaren seeking to ditch one, or either driver looking to leave, the door for any McLaren junior joining the F1 team is shut.

Dunne is yet to drive an F1 car, but it’s a logical conclusion that, as McLaren’s leading prospect in the junior categories, a TPC (testing of previous cars) programme is likely to be carved out for the Irishman this year – as is the prospect of appearing in an FP1 session before too long.

F1’s rookie rules for this year demand each team hands over a minimum of at least four FP1 outings to junior drivers, with their race drivers required to hand over at least two such sessions each. McLaren has yet to define its plans for these FP1 appearances, but Dunne’s participation appears highly likely.

While FP1 and TPC outings may be on the cards in the not-too-distant future, the immediate inability to follow in the footsteps of Norris in earning a promotion straight from F2 into the F1 team’s line-up isn’t one that’s bothering Dunne.

It’s an issue he’s leaving aside for future Alex to worry about, as PlanetF1.com asked Dunne whether there has been anything dangled in front of him by McLaren in light of his recent success.

“I don’t know how much I can say!” he said.

“I have to wait and see. I think, naturally, motorsport is a performance-led thing, and I think, if I keep on going in the direction we’re going at the moment, then I don’t see why the chance of driving a Formula 1 car is impossible.

“I’m the only driver, obviously, in F2 as part of McLaren, so that will be something hopefully in my favour.

“I think, if I just keep on focusing on myself… there’s no point in me thinking about Formula 1 right now. I’m not an F1 driver.

“Relatively, you can say I’m close, but, realistically, I’m not even close to F1 yet.

“So there’s no point in me thinking about F1, I just focus on what I can do in F2 and, if I keep on performing at a high level, then hopefully the opportunity will arise.”

Dunne’s manager is his father Noel, a former Formula Ford Zetec Champion, who told PlanetF1.com that he hasn’t been surprised by how quickly his son has adjusted to life in the highly competitive Formula 2 series.

“Everything he’s driven, up to date, he’s always shown the pace, even though F3 wasn’t the best year in the world,” he said.

“He’s shown pace throughout the year but circumstances out of his control didn’t allow him to deliver that.

“Since he’s jumped into the [Rodin] team, everybody’s got around him, his feedback has been good. His pace has been good from the word go, and his understanding of the car and how to get the best of it, he’s always learning us, but he delivers quite a lot of the time.

“Even though sometimes he might show it on the weekend, he’s generally doing a good job with what he has at the time, even if it’s not perfect.”

Watching on as his son ticked off lap after lap in the lead in Bahrain, Dunne’s years of supporting his son on his journey so far were rewarded as Alex crossed the line to take his maiden win in the category, but he explained there hasn’t been much time to absorb the enormity of what’s unfolding for the Offaly-born driver.

“I’ve always been proud of him. I always think that he’s doing a good job, even though I mightn’t be happy all the time!” he laughed.

“I might be saying he needs a little bit more, or train more, or be more careful of the diet… I’m always pushing him. I think his raw speed, understanding, and talent have always been there. So I’ve always been proud.

“I don’t think we’ve had a chance, really, to sit there and look back on the journey. Like, he won in Bahrain, we enjoyed the hour or two after it, went back to the hotel, had food, slept, and then back up early the next morning to the airport to Jeddah.

“So I don’t think we’ve had a chance to digest everything. I think, come the end of the year if everything works out well, we’ll have a week or two to sit at home and say, ‘Yeah, this is pretty outstanding, where we are.’

“But we haven’t had that time yet, because it’s still a work in progress as far as we’re concerned. We won a race, a brilliant achievement, but the end goal is still to win a lot more.”

With the first win now in the bag, what’s the goal from here – is the championship a realistic thought?

“Poles, wins, and fastest laps!” he said.

“The goal was always to win races, just to show everybody that we’re not here just for one weekend – we’re here for a long time.

“With F2 it’s so competitive, it’s so tight, the general thing is to try to just deliver every opportunity we can, make the best of every circumstance we can, and see how the year pans out.”

But, with McLaren’s door shut for now, is it too early to be thinking of what might be next beyond Formula 2? Particularly as the series’ rules would prevent Dunne from staying in the category if he was to win the title…

“You always have to have, in the back of your head, where you want to be,” he said.

“Four years ago, we planned to be in F2 in 2025 and we’re here. Alex always wants to get to F1… so that’s the plan.

“Whether everything, all the stars, align there or not, I don’t know, because it doesn’t matter how fast you are, how many results you get… sometimes it all doesn’t fall into place. So we just do what we can from our side, and hopefully, everything else aligns.”

Might Alex Dunne be forced into emulating Gabriel Bortoleto example?

Just six current slots are currently unconfirmed on the F1 2026 grid, but there’s no reason at present to doubt that the likes of George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, or Yuki Tsunoda won’t find agreements to continue. Both Mercedes and Red Bull’s own driver programmes have currently got stand-out prospects ready and waiting if opportunities do arise, while Alpine’s Jack Doohan is facing stiff competition from the waiting Paul Aron and Franco Colapinto.

Two seats at the Cadillac F1 team are also available, with the new American team under Graeme Lowdon currently evaluating its options – almost every single available driver currently on the market can be linked as a possibility for the burgeoning squad.

Where Dunne might take heart and encouragement, if an opportunity other than McLaren does arise, is in seeing how McLaren dealt with a similar issue last season, as Gabriel Bortoleto came through to win the Formula 2 title while part of McLaren’s programme – Bortoleto having signed with McLaren in 2023.

With the possibility of a Sauber seat arising towards the end of 2024, McLaren didn’t stand in the Brazilian’s way and released him, without charge to Sauber, to allow the F2 Champion to pursue an opportunity that was not on the table at McLaren – a commendable ending to a situation that could have seen McLaren opt to dig in and hold on with all its might to a driver it had invested in.

But, with no signs of McLaren looking to shake things up from its current Norris/Piastri line-up, it means that junior drivers like Dunne can hit a natural glass ceiling with the Woking-based squad, and Dunne is rapidly closing in on that point now.

If Dunne does repeat what Bortoleto managed and enters the fray for conversations at other teams, is the relationship with McLaren developed enough to allow for a similar outcome?

“McLaren has been very much behind Alex,” Dunne senior said.

“Since he’s been part of their programme, they’ve seen the way his work ethic is, his speed – he hasn’t had the opportunity to deliver it all the time, whether it be circumstances or red flags in qualifying or whatever.

“He’s always had the speeds, they think his communication and understanding, what he’s been doing in the teams, has been good.

“It’s special, very special, being part of McLaren and they seem to, since the word go, have been very much behind Alex and seeing what he’s capable of.”

Read Next: McLaren make withdrawal decision with major announcement expected – report