‘Not happy but not unhappy’ – Dunne reflects on P4 Qualifying in Sakhir

Alexander Dunne had mixed emotions on Friday night after qualifying fourth in Bahrain, as while the Rodin Motorsport driver was happy with the result, he believed there was more pace in his car.

The Irishman had shown good pace throughout the day, finishing seventh in Free Practice, and was third after the first set of laps in Qualifying.

The 19-year-old then used the new Soft tyres to his advantage once more. His 1:44.324 put him up to fourth on his final attempt, just over three-tenths behind pole-sitter Leonardo Fornaroli.

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Speaking in the paddock at the end of the session, Dunne was happy with the pace he and the team had, but felt a higher position was possible if not for a mistake at Turn 8.

“I think it was pretty good,” said Dunne reflecting on Qualifying. “I think both run one and run two, the lap was decent, nothing special but it was pretty comfortable.

“We made a couple of changes to the car, to try and comfort me a little bit from the test, because there were a few things I was struggling a little bit with. I think that helped massively, but I was still getting used to it in Quali.

“I made a small mistake in Turn 8 and locked up, but I think other than that, the lap wasn't too bad. Definitely there was more in it, but nothing massive, the lap was pretty clean.

“Overall, I think fifth in Quali in Melbourne and fourth here. At least it's pretty consistent in terms of pace and the pace is good, so I'm happy.”

The drivers faced much cooler conditions in Qualifying than they did in Free Practice. But even with the drop in temperatures, the track was still different to what they had encountered at in-season testing.

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When asked if that made it difficult to put a lap together, Dunne said: “With the changes we made I probably found it a little bit more comfortable. Up until now the pace has always been there, but I've struggled with one or two things to put the lap together.

“We've changed a couple of things to try and help me with that and it's definitely been better. But I was still trying to adapt and understand it a little bit better all through Qualifying.

“Altogether I would say it's one of the harder tracks to put the lap together. You have a massive mix of corners and a lot of different driving styles in one.

“Realistically what we learned in the test was half scrapped for Quali now because I think the pole lap was one and a half, or almost two seconds slower than what Gabi did in the test. Even FP this morning was like driving on ice. Now it's a little bit better, but it was still tricky.

“I think it was more adapting to the grip and what you have, rather than pushing really hard to do the ultimate lap. It kind of felt like one of those sessions where driving at 95% was quicker than 100, because it was so easy to make that small mistake. Overall, not happy but not unhappy.”

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Talking more about the changes Rodin made, Dunne explained how it was to make him more comfortable in the car, helping him unlock the last “little bit of potential”.

The McLaren Development Driver Programme member praised his team for going in the right direction with the setup, saying this should help him drive more “naturally” and will help them to get better moving forward.

That also applies to both the Sprint and the Feature Races coming up, where Dunne believes his natural driving style and the inherent performance in the car should put them in a good position for the weekend.

“I think the race pace has been super strong to be honest,” he continued. “I think in the Melbourne Sprint, I was second quickest or at least one of the quickest. In the race runs, from Abu Dhabi to now I have always been very strong.

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“Obviously the two races here last year, we won, but I think a lot of the teams have caught up. Generally, the field is a lot closer this year. For sure we know the race pace is strong, me, naturally as a driver I think my driving kind of suits how the car is in a race run.

“I am generally quite smooth and manage my tyres well, but we will have to wait and see. The Sprint Race is going to be a bit colder, but I think the Feature Race with the hotter temperatures, deg will be a lot harder. But we will have to wait and see.”