Alex Dunne’s stunning P4 debut in Formula 1

Irishman Alex Dunne finished an impressive 4th place after his first experience in a Formula 1 car with McLaren. 

The 19-year-old made history on Friday as the first Irish F1 driver to drive after 22 years, the last being Ralph Firman, whose best result in a grand prix was 8th. 

Dunne was born in Offaly to a family with racing already in its blood; his father – Noel Dunne – is a two-time winner of the Irish Formula Ford F1600 series. Alex himself has already proved to be a natural prodigy—he began karting at the age of 8 and raced his first single-seater in 2021 with Pinnacle Motorsport in Spanish Formula 4.

Just a year after his first experience in a single-seater, Dunne became the winner of the 2022 British F4 championship, as well as the runner-up in GB3 in 2023 with a total of 5 wins throughout the entire 24 race season. 

In May of 2024, Dunne was announced as a McLaren junior driver whilst driving in FIA F3. A year later, he participated in his first test run with McLaren in the MCL60 at Zandvoort and later drove it again at the Circuit of the Americas a month after. 

On June 23rd, McLaren announced that Dunne would be taking the reins of current F1 driver Lando Norris’ MCL39 in FP1 of the Austrian GP. 

Credit: Joe Portlock | Getty Images

“It’s going to be a very special day for my family and me,” Dunne told McLaren regarding his official F1 debut. 

Following the announcement, Dunne finished a mega 4th place in FP1 on Friday, greeted by some of his family after exiting the car. In a graphic displayed on F1TV towards the end of the session, the Irishman was also the fastest in the high-speed corners.

“...To have the pace that I had and, you know, show what I’m capable of on the F1 stage is something pretty special."

"…This is definitely the best day of my life.”

Just two hours after his finish, he was back in his Rodin Motorsport car for F2 qualifying, setting himself up to begin in 3rd in the sprint race on Saturday and 7th on Sunday race day.

Cover photo: Clive Rose┃Getty Images