Alex Dunne keeping F1 dream alive with 2028 opportunities emerging

Alex Dunne says his F1 dreams will be kept ‘alive as long as possible’ as he is eyeing up opportunities for the 2028 silly season.

The Irish driver is understood to have a number of F1 possibilities on the table for the 2028 season, coming off the back of a particularly strong second half to his 2026 Formula 2 campaign.

Alex Dunne targets Formula 1 opportunities for 2028

Dunne’s stuttering start to the 2026 Formula 2 campaign has given way to a consistently strong second half, meaning the Rodin Motorsport driver is a very realistic contender for the F2 title, depending on whether or not the final scheduled races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi take place.

With 189 points, Dunne is 11 points behind Nikola Tsolov, and 18 points behind Rafa Camara; the Brazilian driver has just secured his way into Formula 1 with Haas, having been promoted to his 2027 seat early following the American team dropping Esteban Ocon with immediate effect after Mexico.

But, with the end of the 2026 season in sight, Dunne is not a contender for a race seat in Formula 1 in ’27, unlike his championship rivals; not only is Camara stepping up, but Tsolov appears to only have to play a waiting game to end up at Racing Bulls, whether that be in ’27 or ’28 being down to whether the team opts to drop Liam Lawson.

Dunne had a tumultuous 2025, in which he parted ways with the McLaren driver development programme as the Woking-based squad wished to move him out of the F1 ecosystem, while a unilateral decision by Helmut Marko to sign him to the Red Bull programme was overruled by his bosses due to the political situation within the organisation 12 months ago.

The Irish driver was snapped up by the Alpine programme, but has conspicuously not appeared in an F1 car this season: having carried out multiple TPC and FP1 outings with McLaren in ’25, no such opportunities have been forthcoming with the Enstone-based squad.

Instead, Alpine has turned to Gabriele Mini for its mandatory rookie running, with the Italian also having carried out multiple TPC outings this year.

Mini now appears to be a shoo-in for the reserve role at Alpine next year, while sources have indicated that Dunne is set to part ways with the French squad’s programme, with no obvious path forward within the organisation due to the contracts in place with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

Dunne is understood to have also had exploratory talks with Cadillac as the American squad weighs up its options for the seat currently occupied by Valtteri Bottas, but, with the squad eager to sign an American driver, the prospects of Colton Herta and Ugo Ugochukwu are such that the talks did not advance.

However, unlike the situation that held him back from any serious F1 discussions last year, Dunne’s performance in Formula 2 this year means he now has the points required for the mandatory FIA Super Licence needed for Formula 1.

Dunne’s desire to remain close to F1 has been noted by several outfits, and the Irish driver is now understood to be viewed as a serious prospect for a seat when existing contracts come to a close; at least three midfield teams are understood to have presented Dunne with opportunities to arrive on the grid in 2028, with an eye to carrying out an intensive testing programme through ’27.

While Dunne will not continue in Formula 2 in 2027, regardless of whether he wins the title or not this season, his prospects for continuing in a high-profile racing series are likely to see him plump for an opportunity in the United States, rather than heading to a series such as Super Formula.

Dunne’s recent test in Alabama with Dale Coyne Racing is said to have impressed the team, with the Irish driver fastest during the morning session before his best time was beaten by Hunter McElrea in the afternoon session with better track conditions.

The likely scenario at present means that Dunne is likely to take up this opportunity for a racing programme in the American series, while dovetailing with testing duties with an F1 team with an eye towards development for ’28.

Dunne was recently asked by PlanetF1.com about whether he has found it frustrating that, while his F2 rivals have uncovered opportunities in Formula 1, he is the front-running name not to have had similar opportunities.

“I think the difficult thing is, I think to be an F1 driver to have an F1 seat, nine times out of 10, the contracts and those sorts of things are usually well wrapped up at this point of the year, where we are quite late into the season,” he said off the back of his Baku feature race victory.

“So I would say, nine times out of 10, most drivers who are going to be F1 drivers next year, who are making the step, contract negotiations and being signed and things like that have kind of already been done.

“So I think, for me, not necessarily being in contention for a seat at the moment in comparison to, let’s say, Niko [Tsolov] and Rafael [Camara], I would say, to be honest, makes perfect sense because, up until the last two weekends, they’ve been quite far in front of me in the championship.

“Now we’ve had a bit of a turn in form, and it’s been really strong, but unfortunately it’s a little bit too late.”

“I think, even if I win the championship, I think it makes sense that they would have more of a chance than I do, purely because the gap in the championship was so big in the middle of the year, and that’s, I think, from a couple of weeks before Monza to Monza time.

“At least in my experience, it’s when contracts and things are sorted out, so I think it makes sense that it would go their way and not mine. Of course it’s frustrating, but not much I can do.”

With Dunne’s desire to remain in the shop window for F1 having been the reason for his decision to depart McLaren, potential opportunities in IndyCar and Formula E are still being viewed as a means to an end to retain interest from F1 teams, as well as maximise opportunities for commercial backers to come on board and help bolster his chances against rivals with significant sponsorship portfolios.

“I try not to think about it too much, to be honest,” Dunne said of that elusive opportunity.

“My dad is the one who manages me, and he’s the one who goes through a lot of these things, and anytime there’s a possibility of going elsewhere, I always tell him I want to do F1.

“So you know, granted at this point of the year, me being in F1 next year, we probably need a massive bank account and a big miracle for that to happen.”

With 2027 likely to be Dunne’s last chance to grab the attention of an F1 team for ’28, a time when multiple driver contracts come to an end, he admitted that turning away from his F1 dream may involve him needing to be dragged away from that ambition.

“I think it’s probably unlikely, but every time it’s mentioned, at least, I think if that decision is going to be made to go elsewhere, someone else will probably have to do it for me,” he said.

“Because I think with how much I’ve achieved to date, and I think as a driver and what I believe I’m capable of, and also all the work I’ve put into it, I think for me to say, ‘Let’s do something other than F1,’ I think for me it would be too hard to say that.

“So you know my plan is to not give up on the dream, and we’ll try and keep it alive for as long as we can, but I think realistically it’s probably going to be difficult.”

Read Next: George Russell action under Brundle microscope after FIA fines Mercedes