Alex Dunne identified as potential target for Red Bull’s Helmut Marko

Formula 2 star Alex Dunne is understood to have attracted the interest of Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, with the Irishman having been a star performer of the 2025 season.

The Austrian talent-spotter is understood to have engaged in initial discussions with Dunne to sound each other out about prospects for the 2026 season.

Alex Dunne subject of Red Bull interest

In his rookie season in Formula 2, Dunne lies fifth heading into the Monza weekend, just 30 points behind championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.

With two feature race wins and multiple podiums, Dunne’s championship challenge has been compromised by various disqualifications for technical and operational errors from his Rodin team, costing him significant points.

Dunne has also impressed with his F1 opportunities this year, with several TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) outings throughout the year in which his pace is believed to have impressed McLaren.

The Irish driver became part of McLaren’s Driver Development Programme last year, and has flourished in the time since to become a Formula 2 frontrunner, while he has also taken part in two FP1 sessions with McLaren.

In Austria, Dunne caught the world’s attention by setting the fourth-quickest time of FP1, just a fraction behind temporary teammate Oscar Piastri, while his 16th-place finish in the FP1 session in Monza was as a result of a quiet session in which he couldn’t complete a performance run due to session interruptions.

But, behind the scenes, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko is understood to have some initial in-person meetings with Dunne and his representatives in order to establish a relationship and open a line of communication

The Austrian, who has spotted significant talents such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, has met with the Irish driver, with sources indicating to PlanetF1.com that some initial discussions regarding 2026 have taken place.

While currently part of McLaren’s programme, Dunne currently has no chance of arriving on the F1 grid with the Woking-based team as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are on long-term contracts.

With precious few cockpits free for next year, some opportunities could arise within the Red Bull stable as Yuki Tsunoda’s position remains perilous.

Sources have indicated that Isack Hadjar is the strong frontrunner to step into the Red Bull RB22 alongside Max Verstappen, with Tsunoda highly unlikely to return to the Racing Bulls car he vacated earlier this year.

While Liam Lawson is likely to be retained, the most obvious candidate to step up from F2 to Racing Bulls is current Red Bull junior programme driver Arvid Lindblad.

Lindblad lies seventh in the F2 standings, currently 32 points behind Dunne, and is known to have impressed Marko having accumulated enough points for an F1 Super Licence even prior to his arrival in F2.

Dunne’s current fifth position in F2 would also be enough to secure an F1 Super Licence.

At this stage, sources have indicated that Dunne’s discussions with Marko are not with an eye to a race seat or programme with Racing Bulls, and could also be interpreted as a way of applying pressure to McLaren to firm up its plans over how to keep the young talent on an upward track in his career.

When asked about Dunne, Marko confirmed to PlanetF1.com that Red Bull is “always interested in fast and confident drivers, and Dunne is a fast and confident driver.”

Progress in these discussions could mean Dunne essentially switching from McLaren’s young driver programme to Red Bull’s – a risky move but one that could offer an F1 chance more quickly due to Red Bull controlling four cockpits. McLaren does not have a B-team relationship at which it could place Dunne, meaning the Irishman’s upward mobility is restricted by Norris and Piastri’s long-term contracts.

Added to that is the fact that, should Dunne win the F2 title, he could not remain in the series for 2026, while a second season risks seeing him having a less impressive season and reducing the ability to ‘strike while the iron’s hot’.

Dunne isn’t the only Alex that has been linked with Red Bull recently, with speculation emerging recently that IndyCar star Alex Palou could be a target for Marko.

However, unlike him not denying some interest in Dunne when asked by PlanetF1.com, Marko shot down any chance of Palou featuring in his plans.

“We never had a discussion with him,” he said.

When asked if he had any interest in Palou, Marko replied, “No, we had other drivers. He’s not on our radar, no.”

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