Alex Dunne has hinted that he may have already secured his next step after confirmation of his McLaren exit. The team confirmed on Thursday that Irish Formula 2 racer Dunne had been released with immediate effect, leaving the 19-year-old free to join another programme if the opportunity comes along.
Dunne is fifth in the F2 championship, having fallen out of title contention in recent weeks. But he truly caught the eyes of many up and down the pit lane with his performance in his first ever F1 practice session, when he steered his McLaren to fourth place on the timesheets at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
Red Bull are known to be admirers of the Irish teenager, having been impressed by the progress he has made in his maiden F2 season with Rodin Motorsport. But they would have seen his affiliation with McLaren as a stumbling block and it is only now that he is a free agent that their interest could intensify.
And it may be the case that Dunne has already lined up his next move, having now posted on social media for the first time since his McLaren exit was announced. Posting on his Instagram story, the 19-year-old wrote: “Looking forward for what is to come.”
McLaren’s statement confirming Dunne’s exit was a short one and featured no comment from the driver himself. It read: “McLaren Racing has ended its contract with McLaren Driver Development Programme member Alex Dunne.
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“It has been a pleasure to work with Alex over the last year and to have been able to contribute to his success and growth as a driver through the McLaren Driver Development programme. Alex will be released with immediate effect. We wish Alex all the best for his career going forward.”
McLaren were impressed by the talent displayed by Dunne, but have no room in their F1 driver line-up for the foreseeable future. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have formed an impressive partnership which will likely deliver both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles this year and both are tied down to long-term contracts.
So, in his pursuit of a future in F1, Dunne has decided to leave. He follows the same path as Gabriel Bortoleto who was also a McLaren junior driver until last year, when he left to sign a multi-year contract with Audi before the Brazilian had even confirmed his F2 title success.