‘The second year is to win’ – Dunne sets his sights on winning the title in 2026

9 January 2026

Alexander Dunne is very confident that he will have the chance to fight for the Drivers’ Championship in 2026, believing he and Rodin Motorsport have learned a lot from last season.

The Irishman impressed in his rookie year, finishing fifth in the Standings with two wins, the first of those coming in his debut Feature Race around Sakhir.

Dunne has now been confirmed to be returning for a second F2 campaign with Rodin, and speaking at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi back in December, he says he is looking to do what he felt was possible in 2025.

“I think when you do a second year in a Championship, the second year is to win,” said Dunne. “The full goal is to try and win the Championship next year, that's the goal, nothing less really.

“I'm more than confident that it is possible. This year there were times I was confident that it would happen, but it did not.

“So when you take the experience, I have had this year, there are a couple of things that if I had a bit more experience, and had a better understanding, I would have done better. So approaching that next season, I will be in a stronger place.”

Dunne says he is aiming for the Championship in 2026 after finishing fifth in his rookie season

Looking back on his rookie season as a whole, Dunne has a mixed view on 2025, happy with the plenty, but also feeling there were things he and his team could have done better.

“It's been okay,” said Dunne. “I wouldn't say it's been an amazing year, but I wouldn't say it's been a bad year either. I think there have been a lot of moments where the pace has been really strong, we have had good results, and done a good job.

“There are also moments where I could have done a better job, and as a team we probably could have done a better job in certain scenarios. I think it’s been a strong year, but of course, I would have liked to have fought for the title a bit more.”

Looking back on those moments that did not go well, Dunne missed out on a victory at Spa and a podium in Spielberg following post-race investigations and penalties.

In addition to that, the 20-year-old also lost out on good points finishes in Monza and Baku after contact, and Dunne believes without those moments, his position in the Standings would have been different.

“I think I would say Austria, Monza and Baku, those three are out of my control,” he explained. “I think that's just down to bad luck, and there is probably one or two other things where we could have done a better job.

Dunne highlighted a few moments from the season that cost him a few more points

“I think we have been a little bit unlucky. I think of the positions I was in Monza and Baku, if I finish where I was and not get taken out, then the Championship would probably look a whole lot different.

“I am maybe not in a position to win it, but we probably would be comfortably in the top three. I think in those scenarios we have been a little bit unlucky and in that sense it's a bit disappointing.”

But those are things that Dunne is not too worried about, as he feels heading into 2026, he and Rodin have the most important aspect under control, which is having good raw pace.

“I think in terms of raw pace we have been the quickest,” said Dunne. “Putting in on pole in Monaco was quite strong, and then the gap we had to P2 in Spa when we put it on pole was pretty cool as well.

“In terms of general raw speed, and race pace I think we have been the quickest. Sometimes we have either gotten lucky or haven't got the absolute most out of that, so from a pace and performance point of view we have been strong.

Dunne reflected on a mixed rookie season that had plenty of highs and low

“That is something that we can be happy about and I think ultimately the rest of the stuff we need to fix, is easy. Once you have strong pace, you are comfortable in the car and you are quick, that's the hard part out of the way, that's the part you can't really learn, you just have to have it.

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“I think we have done a good job developing the car, developing myself as a driver, and from the beginning of the year to now we have improved a lot.

“So the whole pace aspect and performance aspect of myself and the team has been really strong. There are couple of things that you can iron out and fix pretty easily.”