"Thank you. You've made a little boy's dream come true": McLaren prodigy Alex Dunne after his F1 Austrian GP FP1 stint

F2 driver and part of the McLaren Driver Development programme, Alex Dunne, replaced Lando Norris for the FP1 session at the 2025 Austrian GP. The Irish driver put in a solid performance during his outing in the Papaya car and thanked the team and Norris after the FP1 stint.

Coming into the 2025 season, F1 made a rule change to increase the rookies' participation. Before the current season, teams had to field a rookie during a test session at least once in each car, meaning twice per team. However, the same was doubled starting this season, making it twice per car, i.e., four times per team.

Alex Dunne filled in for Lando Norris, whereas Dino Beganovic replaced Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. The Irish driver put in a solid performance and completed 29 laps during the one-hour practice session. Dunne had a relatively trouble-free session with no interruptions or spins, keeping the car in one piece.

What was surprising to see was the pace unleashed by Alex Dunne, as he finished the FP1 session in P4, less than a tenth slower than the other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri. George Russell set the fastest time of the session with a 1:05.54,2, and Piastri ended up 0.155s behind the Mercedes. However, Dunne was just 0.224s away from Russell's fastest time.

After the session ended, Dunne took to the team radio and thanked the team during his inlap. The Irishman detailed how much it meant to him as it was his first official outing in an F1 car. He said:

“I want to say a massive thank you. You've made a little boy's dream come true, and this is definitely the best day of my life. Thank you everyone for letting me do this, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car.”

Alex Dunne drives for Rodin Motorsports in the F2 championship and leads the Formula ladder series. The Irishman leads the championship with 87 points to his name, closely followed by Richard Verschoor on 84 points.

Alex Dunne detailed how he prepared for his first official F1 outing at the Austrian GP

Alex Dunne became the first Irish driver in 22 years to take part in an F1 weekend. The Irishman raced in the F3 series in 2024 before making the jump to F2 this year. He also fulfils the role of the reserve driver for McLaren's Formula-E team.

Speaking ahead of the Austrian GP, the F2 championship leader detailed how he's been preparing for his F1 outing.

“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,” said Dunne.

“I’ve been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience. Thank you to Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella] and Alessandro [Alunni Bravi] for their faith in me,” he added.

Dunne is also participating in the F2 race weekend in Austria and will have to get back in the ladder series car after the F1 outing.