Interview
Alexander Dunne on feeling more relaxed in F2, working with Rodin and McLaren’s support
Alexander Dunne has made a tremendous start to his rookie campaign and currently sits fourth in the Drivers' Championship after the opening three rounds.
This has been helped by a maiden Feature Race victory in Bahrain, and a third-place finish in the Jeddah Sprint. So far, it is all going well for the Rodin Motorsport driver, and speaking prior to Round 2 getting underway, he talked through his early days in Formula 2.
“It's been pretty good so far,” he said. “To be honest the start of the season has been relatively strong. In comparison to where I started my F3 season, it has been a much nicer start.
“I knew the pace was there but there are a lot of outside factors in a weekend that you need to put together to have a good result. But so far, I am enjoying it. I have a lot to learn, a few things within myself that I need to improve on but going so well so far.”
At this point in 2024, Dunne had scored just six points through the first three rounds of his Formula 3 season, but so far this year, he has 35.
The Irishman puts this down to a few things, one being the effort he put into his preparations. While Dunne says he worked hard in F3, he has “pushed a bit more” when it comes to his fitness and understanding where he can improve in the car.
In addition to the preparation, the 19-year-old is really enjoying his new environment at Rodin.
“Naturally I feel a bit more comfortable,” he said. “Okay we have to learn a new car and, in some scenarios, some new tracks this year. But generally, how you approach the weekend is much the same as F3, in terms of quali and the short amount of track time.
“So naturally I am a bit more in the swing of things carrying over from F3. I think the amount of prep we've also had pre-season this year was pretty strong.
“I think last year in F3, I was kind of just thrown in straight away in Bahrain. I had the opportunity to do Macau, but still the prep for the beginning of last year wasn't optimal.
“This year, we have had a lot more time. We've had the test in Abu Dhabi, then we had the Barcelona test and then we've had a race weekend before the second round.
“Also, I am really comfortable in the team environment. It seems to really suit me so far. I think I've clicked really well with the team and they really understand what I want from the car as well.
“I think that naturally makes the learning process easier. I feel pretty relaxed within myself, the car, and the team and generally as a whole I just feel better. Even if it’s in a high category, I feel a bit more chill about everything.”
Dunne ended his 2024 campaign in fine form, starting from the front row at the final two rounds in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. He finished the year with two podiums at the Barcelona and Monza Sprint Race, 50 points in the Championship and 14th in the Standings.
After the season ended, the McLaren Development Programme member conceded that he was not completely convinced by a move up to Formula 2. He felt particularly enthused about his speed at the end of the year and that he was ready for the challenge, but his results in F3 did not.
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But with his father, Noel Dunne – a former racing driver himself – convinced of the move as well as McLaren, Dunne made the step up for 2025.
“I think my mind was kind of in two places,” said Dunne on his decision to move up to Formula 2. “At first, I was a bit unsure. I always wanted to get to F2 as early as possible, but you don't want to rush it.
“The thing for me is the teams this year I would have expected to be strong with the new car. At that time, it was a bit of a lottery whether or not you got it right. I think that played a big part.
“I think during and towards the end of the year, I felt within myself the pace was good enough and I was ready for F2. But because the results weren't quite what I wanted I was probably a bit unsure.
“But McLaren were very happy to do F2 and my dad, who manages the whole thing for me was the one who was always pushing for F2. With that, I kind of felt a bit more relaxed and by the time we made the decision I was very, very happy to go to F2.”
Dunne acknowledged the importance of his father in helping him throughout his career, having been by his side since karting. Along with him though, the Irish driver also has McLaren in his corner these days.
The Papaya team’s association with Dunne started ahead of Round 3 in Imola in 2024, and he says having their support last season was the reassurance he needed given how difficult it was.
“It's pretty cool,” said Dunne on being a part of McLaren. “Not that last year was bad, but I think for what I want, it could have been much better, and I think for what the year was, McLaren were still very happy and impressed.
“That was nice, and sometimes even when I felt like I was doing a good job, sometimes you come away from the weekend thinking what's going on. In a non-cocky way, I think that was kind of the first time in a while where I was in a position like that.
“Even though I felt like I was doing a good job, I was still a little bit confused, thinking about what I could do better to stop this from happening. Having McLaren in my corner, helped me a lot because it was like an extra bit of reassurance, because they believed through the year that they felt like I was doing a good job.
“We had Warren Hughes, who was my driver coach for McLaren through the year, and I think with all the stuff that was not quite right, he was always there to help and prove that it wasn't necessarily me.
“If I myself had to constantly go to McLaren and say this didn't go right, they would think that I am just a young kid making excuses, which is understandable. So, to have someone from McLaren in my corner to back up what I am saying, that I am not saying rubbish, it was very nice.
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“They were always reassuring during the year, and they were putting a lot of effort into me and helping me out where I needed help and come the end of the year that massively helped.”
Dunne acknowledged that part of his problem last year was that he felt that he always had to prove something to everyone rather than just McLaren.
“Rather than being comfortable at 99% I probably pushed it to a 105% because I probably felt I had that last little bit to prove to everyone,” he explained.
This is something Dunne wants to avoid in 2025, and while he feels if he can put together a title-winning campaign, he acknowledges the competition on the grid, and he expects the trend of different winners at each race weekend to continue for now.
“Naturally I don't want to say I want to win the championship, but of course the goal is to win the championship,” said Dunne. “You try and do as well as possible and hopefully if you do that the end result is champion.
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“I think if we can just have a consistently strong year, where the results are always there, the pace in quali is always there and the results are relatively strong that would be good.
“If things go wrong and the championship position because of that isn't quite right then so be it. I don't want to be in a position where I constantly have to push to prove something.
“Were in a relaxed position where we know the pace is strong and when there is an opportunity to have a good result, we take it and if we are not, we take it. I wouldn't say I have any massive goals. If I do what I think my best is, the end result should be alright.”