Alex Dunne: An Irish teenager to return to McLaren in the Italian Grand Prix first practice in Monza | F1 News
Alex Dunne, from Ireland, will come back for McLaren during the first training at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Friday.
Dunne, 19, played during his first release in practice earlier this year in Austria when he finished fourth in the session and less than a tenth of Oscar Piastri in equal machinery.
The teenager was the first Irish driver to participate in an F1 weekend in 22 years and will also continue his Formula 2 campaign in Monza, where he is fifth in the standings.
“I am super excited to be back for my second FP1 with McLaren in Monza this weekend,” said Dunne.
“My first in Austria was an extremely special day for me, so starting again at Monza, a track that is so historic, will be a big smile on my face, so impatiently.
“I hope I can build and improve what was a strong outing in Austria and help Lando and Oscar as much as possible when entering the Grand Prix.”
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Dunne was due after finishing fourth when opening in Austria
The 10 Formula 1 teams must direct a recruit in at least four training sessions this season.
McLaren has already announced that the star of Indycar Pato O’Ward would get an outing to his home event in Mexico City in October and should fulfill the recruit requirements in Abu Dhabi with a driver to confirm.
Who is Alex Dunne?
Born on November 11, 2005 in Offley, Dunne quickly passed through the ranks of karting and jumped at the opportunity to drive in formula 4 to 15 years – the minimum age that you can lead to this level.
He took pole position and a podium during his beginnings to a single lead in F4, then dominated the British season F4 in 2022 as the interest increased.
Dunne was a finalist of Kimi Antonelli in Italian F4 the same year, then finished second in the GB3 championship in 2023. Although he had trouble shining regularly in F3, McLaren signed him in May 2024 and that Dunne took the step in F2 with Rodin Motorsport this year.
Dunne has already impressed in Formula 2 and Formula 3
He should not be a defending challenger, but found himself at the head of the ranking after two impressive victories on the race in Bahrain and Imola, plus two other podiums at the start of the season.
However, he was considered for lack of a bend 1 incident in the Monaco feature film race in May against Victor Martins, which caused a stack. Dunne was strongly criticized on social networks, which led him to delete applications on her phone.
“I had a lot after Monaco, normally I am not someone who reads things and is bored,” he said.
“But I think that an hour after the race, I deleted the social media on my phone because I have never received such bad messages in my life. Many things I got were really bad and quite overwhelming, to be honest.”
Dunne rebounded by a grid penalty for the Monaco incident by flying on the field from 19th to second place in Sprint F2 in Spain and took fifth place in the race of feature films to keep her championship advance.
Dunne is already the first Irish driver to participate in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years
He crossed the line in second position in the next round in the Austrian feature race race, the same weekend that he had his debut in practice F1 for McLaren, but was disqualified for excessive plank wear.
Dunne took second place in the Silverstone features race and the Hungary sprint, but was penalized after a dominant victory in the rain in Belgium for a violation of the starting procedure.
The recent mixed results placed him fifth in the F2 championship, 30 points behind the leader Leonardo Fornaroli with four events to play in the season.
Italian Sky Sports F1 schedule
Thursday September 4
2 p.m.: Pilot press conference
Friday September 5
8:30 am: F3 Practical
9:55 am: F2 Practical
12 noon: Italian Grand Prix Practice one (the session starts at 12:30 p.m.) *
1:55 p.m.: F3 Qualification
2:50 p.m.: F2 qualification
3:35 p.m.: Italian Grand Prix practices two (the session starts at 4 p.m.)
5:15 p.m.: The F1 show
Saturday September 6
8:10 am: Sprint F3
11:15 am: The Italian Grand Prix practices three (the session starts at 11:30 am)
1:10 p.m.: F2 Sprint
2:15 p.m.: Accumulation of qualification of the Italian Grand Prix
3 p.m.: Qualification of the Italian Grand Prix *
5 p.m.: Ted’s qualification book
Sunday September 7
7:10 am: F3 functionality breed
8:40 am: F2 functionality breed
10:40 am: Porsche Supercup Race
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: accumulation of Italian GP
2 p.m.: The Italian Grand Prix *
4 p.m.: Dramié drape: Italian GP reaction
5 p.m.: Ted’s notebook
* Also on the main event of Sky Sports
The Formula 1 2025 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton made his first appearance in Monza for Ferrari, live Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract, cancel at any time
