Confirmation that Alex Dunne has agreed a deal to join the Alpine F1 team academy ties up the one last loose end before this weekend’s season opener in Melbourne, and with that allows the Irish driver to focus entirely on his Formula 2 aspirations for now.
Dunne had already been sporting the Alpine badge on his Rodin Motorsport car during preseason testing in Barcelona last month, and on Wednesday was named as a fully-fledged member of Alpine’s young driver programme for 2026, ahead of his second season with Rodin in the Formula 2 championship.
This also follows Dunne’s exit from McLaren’s driver development programme last September. The deal with Alpine means Dunne will once again get to test himself on the F1 circuit, as each F1 team are obliged to offer their young drivers four practice sessions (two for each car) throughout the season.
It’s a little more peace of mind for Dunne, who turned 20 last November, and finished fifth in his debut F2 season last year. He was leading the title race going into the seventh of the 14 rounds last year, before finishing with two wins, two pole positions and eight podiums overall.
READ MORE
“Naturally, after a competitive season in 2025, the goal this year is to fight for the drivers’ championship,” Dunne said of his F2 aspirations. He’s also the top returning driver from last year, with 2025 F2 winner Leonardo Fornaroli from Italy recently announced as McLaren’s reserve F1 driver for the 2026 season.
“Last year was a great experience on many fronts,” added Dunne. “Lots learned, lots gained, some challenges along the way, but everything has made me a better driver, a better person, and I aim to give my all for Alpine and doing my best as an Alpine academy driver.
“It would be great to reward the team for their faith with wins and podiums and I am excited to work together with everyone in this next chapter of my career.”
Last season, Dunne got to sample two practice sessions in F1 with McLaren, setting the fourth-fastest time in Austria, just 0.069 seconds off Oscar Piastri, as he became the first Irish driver to participate in an F1 weekend in 22 years.
After leaving McLaren’s driver development programme, Dunne was briefly linked with Red Bull.
Dunne doesn’t yet have enough super licence points to become an official reserve for the Alpine’s F1 drivers, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, but he will still get show the Enstone-based team his potential over the course of the season, along with their two other F2 signings, Kush Maini (India) and Gabriele Mini (Italy).
Alpine F1 Team principal Flavio Briatore said of Dunne: “His performances in Formula 2 and also his free practice sessions in Formula 1 last year were impressive, and he is clearly a very talented young driver with pure, natural speed.”
Fionn McLaughlin will also make his F3 debut this weekend, racing for the Hitech TGR as part of the Red Bull Junior Team. The 18-year-old from Derry won last year’s British Formula 4 championship.
His impressive record there included five wins, 14 podiums, four pole positions, and eight fastest laps, finishing comfortably ahead of his rivals. McLaughlin was also named 2025 Motorsport Ireland young racing driver of the year.
