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McLaren will reportedly bench Lando Norris for the FP1 session of the upcoming 2025 Austrian GP. As confirmed by the team, F2 driver Alex Dunne will replace Norris as part of the FIA's rule to field rookies in at least four free practice sessions.
Norris, competing with his teammate Oscar Piastri in the championship race, suffered a huge blow in the Canadian GP. While fighting for P4, he touched Piastri and crashed into the wall. The DNF cost him valuable championship points as he sits in second position with 176 points.
Meanwhile, for the upcoming 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Lando Norris is set to sit out of the first free practice session. McLaren announced that F2 driver Alex Dunne will replace him for the FP1 session, becoming the first Irishman to participate in an F1 weekend since Ralph Firman raced in 2003.
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Dunne, who is leading the 2025 F2 championship, joined McLaren's junior program in 2024. He has been testing the MCL60 in a simulator for a while and now gets to drive a relatively fast car, the MCL39, in Austria.
"It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria. I’m really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead.
"I’ve been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in the testing of previous car tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience. Thank you to Zak, Andrea, and Alessandro for their faith in me," Dunne said in an official statement, via McLaren's website.
This move is part of a new FIA regulation requiring every team to give rookies at least four FP1 sessions during the 2025 season, double the number from 2024. McLaren is using this opportunity to develop Dunne's skills and collect additional car setup data ahead of the weekend.
Ralf Schumacher feels McLaren prioritizes Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris
The 2025 championship race has heated up between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as they made contact in Canada earlier this month. With the British driver being widely blamed for the collision, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher made a damning prediction.
Schumacher stated that McLaren would internally decide to prioritize Piastri over Norris in the championship, as the latter has exposed his mental weakness.
“I believe that it is now internally decided that Piastri is the man the team will focus on in terms of the World Championship. Lando shows too many weaknesses and makes too many mistakes, including his senseless driving into the back of Oscar in Canada," Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.
Lando Norris apologized for the incident with Oscar Piastri in Canada. He admitted error in judgment and vowed to do better.
