Meet the Irishman waiting to follow in Lando Norris's F1 footsteps at McLaren
McLaren boast the quickest car and, in the view of many, the best driver line-up in Formula 1 in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
But when the day arrives for the legendary Woking squad to make a change, a young Irishman could be the next cab off the rank.
Offaly-born Alex Dunne has rapidly climbed the motorsport ladder in recent years, winning the British Formula 4 title in 2022 and now excelling in Formula 2, where he sits fourth in the standings ahead of this weekend's round at Imola, the chief support act to the F1 grand prix.
He has already won this season, dominating the feature race in Bahrain, where he was joined on the podium by none other than McLaren CEO Zak Brown. While the American's main job of the weekend was to oversee Norris and Piastri in the F1 race, he keeps a close eye on the future of his team, which could include Dunne, who joined McLaren's Driver Development Programme one year ago.
While the 19-year-old finished 14th in last season's Formula 3 championship, the McLaren talent-seekers had seen enough. He has been placed with Rodin Motorsport for 2025, and the results are there for all to see.
'When I got out of the car [in Bahrain], he [Brown] was the first person I saw,' said Dunne. 'He shook my hand and said, 'Well done'. There were quite a few people from McLaren at the podium after the race, which was quite nice to see.
'It's super-cool to be with them, it's a dream come true. They're one of the most prestigious teams in the sport. They've really helped me develop as a driver quite a lot.
'I have someone from McLaren with me every race weekend, [driver coach] Warren Hughes. I have contact with pretty much everyone involved.'
It's been a battle for Dunne to get this far. While dad Noel is a racer himself, the family didn't have the funds to buy their way up the motorsport ladder. His progress has mostly relied on Noel rounding up support from sponsors.
'My family have been massively supportive in what I'm doing,' stressed Dunne, who recalls being allowed to steer as his dad took him for rides around Mondello Park when he was five.
'We didn't have the funds to make it happen ourselves, so we pretty much entirely relied on sponsorship. My dad is my manager and he's arranged most of my sponsors. He goes around trying to find as much as possible to keep pushing us forward.
'It was difficult when I was a kid and there were a few times in karting when we questioned stopping because it was too difficult to continue to get the funds.'
While Dunne still needs sponsors, those backers have become easier to find in recent times. He said: 'As you go through the ranks, people naturally get more interested as you get higher and higher.
'Being part of McLaren has also made it a little easier to get sponsors to come on board. Although this is the most expensive year we've had so far, it's probably been the least stressful one we've had.'
Dunne has already driven a McLaren at Dutch track Zandvoort as part of a TPC (testing previous cars) programme. He could get an FP1 outing - which F1 teams are mandated to provide for young drivers - during a grand prix weekend later in the season.
However, he knows the step to a full F1 race seat is the biggest and is refusing to look too far ahead. He insisted: 'I'm not thinking about at all. At the moment, there's no point in focusing on F1. I'm in F2 and I need to focus and getting good results and finishing the year strong.'
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