McLaren junior Alex Dunne makes F1 2025 revelation

Alex Dunne has announced that he will again feature aboard an F1 car during a race weekend on at least one occasion in F1 2025.

The Irish youngster is part of McLaren’s junior programme and impressed on his Free Practice 1 debut at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Alex Dunne will complete more FP1 sessions in F1 2025

The Formula 2 front-runner has seen his stock rise sharply in 2025, his maiden campaign in the F1 feeder series.

He’s a two-time race winner with four other podiums to his name, leaving him fifth in the drivers’ standings. For a time, he headed the competition and, but for a disqualification in Belgium and other costly penalties, might be rather higher in the current standings.

Such has been his form that Dunne has emerged as a strong candidate for an F1 2026 race seat, with links to several possible berths.

While PlanetF1.com understands Sergio Perez has reached an agreement with Cadillac for next season, Dunne is believed to be in contention to partner the experienced Mexican.

There have also been suggestions that he could find his way to Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly.

“At the minute, my guess is probably as good as everyone else’s,” Dunne said of his F1 2026 chances during a Q&A at Mondello Part as part of the Carole Nash Historic Festival.

“To be honest, at the moment, I’m not really sure. I wish I knew a little bit more.

“The most important thing is to focus on F2. And I’ve always said that, I think, to give myself the best opportunity of being an F1 driver, the way I’m going to do that, is by winning F2. I think that’s the goal.”

As he eyes a full-time F1 berth next year, the 19-year-old also confessed there will be further opportunities like he enjoyed in Austria.

For F1 2025, each team must run a rookie driver twice in each of its cars. Dunne has helped McLaren tick off one of those instances, with Pato O’Ward set to do likewise in Mexico City later in the year.

It leaves the Woking operation with two rookie FP1 outings that are yet to be confirmed.

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“I can say that there is going to be maybe one or two FP1s coming up in the year,” Dunne revealed.

“They’re a good opportunity to show that I should be in F1, but I think of when I’m going to have a race seat, yeah, I don’t know.”

Part of the McLaren family, there is no room into which to promote the Irishman in F1 2026, with both Piastri and Norris under contract.

Indeed, there are comparatively few real opportunities, with seemingly only Cadillac or Alpine in the market.

Though neither Mercedes driver have been confirmed as yet, it’s expected George Russell and  Kimi Antonelli will remain in place, while uncertainty surrounds three of the four Red Bull-owned seats.

Max Verstappen will stay put at Red Bull Racing for at least another year, though the identity of his teammate, and who might fill the seats at Racing Bulls, are less certain.

It’s thought Isack Hadjar is the favourite to earn a call-up alongside Verstappen, with his position at Racing Bulls back-killed by Arvid Lindblad alongside Liam Lawson as Yuki Tsunoda moves into a reserve driver role with Aston Martin.

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