Latest news with #McLarenDriverDevelopmentProgramme
Metro
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Metro
Why Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc miss Austria Grand Prix practice
Lando Norris' pursuit of the Formula 1 championship will be disrupted today as he will miss first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver has arrived at the Red Bull Ring off the back of colliding with teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri in Canada. The crash, which Norris took full responsibility for, knocked him out of the grand prix and leaves him 22 points behind Piastri in the standings as we near the halfway point of the season. Victory in Austria would go a long way to restoring the Brit's confidence and could even see him retake lead of the championship if Piastri suffers a poor result. But Norris, as well as Sir Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, will play no part in FP1 on Friday. As per regulations, each F1 team is obliged to run a rookie driver in each of their cars in a practice session at two grand prix this season. McLaren have opted to use Austria for one of these runs, with Norris selected to make way on this occasion for rising star Alex Dunne. The 19-year-old is currently leading the Formula 2 championship and will be the first Irish driver to take part in an F1 session since Ralph Firman in 2003. 'It's an amazing opportunity. I'm really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead,' Dunne said. 'It's a great step within my development with the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and I'm really excited to join the team trackside.' Friday, June 27 Practice 1 – 12.30pm Practice 2 – 4pm Saturday, June 28 Practice 3 – 11.30am Qualifying – 3pm Sunday, June 29 Race – 2pm Ferrari have confirmed that Leclerc will be replaced by Swedish F2 star Dino Beganovic, as was the case at the Bahrain Grand Prix in April. Norris and Leclerc will be back behind the wheel for the rest of the weekend, starting with the second practice session later today. Following his shocking crash with George Russell in Spain, Max Verstappen is on the verge of a one race ban from Formula 1. More Trending The reigning champion has picked up 11 points on his superlicence in the last 12 months, with just one more needed to earn a suspension. The Red Bull star avoided trouble in Canada but will need to do so again in Austria or he will be suspended for the British Grand Prix next weekend. Thankfully for Verstappen, two of his current penalty points expire on Monday, which will lessen his chances of picking up a ban from that point onwards. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: The primal reason we find F1 drivers so goddamn sexy MORE: World's 'most liveable city' for 2025 revealed — knocking Vienna off the top spot MORE: The moment 'devastated' Lewis Hamilton ran over groundhog during Canadian Grand Prix
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Alex Dunne to become first Irish driver to feature in Formula 1 weekend in 22 years
Offaly's Alex Dunne will become the first Irish driver in 22 years to take part in a Formula 1 weekend when he takes to the track at the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix. On Monday, McClaren confirmed that the 19-year-old will compete in the Free Practice 1 in Austria this weekend in place of Lando Norris. Dunne, who is a development driver for McLaren, has impressed in his first year in the Formula 2, winning two races which sees him lead the championship. 'It's an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria," said Dunne, who will become the first Irish driver to participate in a Grand Prix weekend since Ralph Firman back in 2003. "I'm really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead. 'I've been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience. "Thank you to Zak, Andrea and Alessandro for their faith in me. It's a great step within my development with the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and I'm really excited to join the team trackside.' Formula 2 championship leader Rodin Motorsport's Alex Dunne in the paddock before the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain. Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire. Andrea Stella, Team Principal at McLaren F1, added: 'It's great to be able to give Alex the opportunity to run in Free Practice 1, and for him to get valuable time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as part of his development. "The team are pleased to be working with him more closely, and for his support across the weekend, where he will be providing useful feedback to help with the car's set-up. "The rookie sessions are fantastic for seeing the talent of tomorrow and enabling that rare chance to get time in a current car, so we look forward to seeing him on track.' Dunne began karting at eight years old, securing his first European karting title in the 2019 WSK Champions Cup OKJ Category. He made his single-seater debut in the 2021 Spanish F4 Championship, securing Pole position and a podium on debut. In his 2022 season, he picked up a combined 16 race wins whilst competing in the British, UAE, and Italian Formula 4 Championships, earning him the British 4 Championship, before going on to earn the vice-champion title in the GB3 Championship the following year. Dunne was announced as part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme in May 2024 whilst competing in FIA Formula 3. He now races for Rodin Motorsport in FIA Formula 2 and serves as Reserve and Development Driver for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team.
Irish Daily Mirror
03-06-2025
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Alex Dunne on the harrowing abuse he faced following Monaco GP crash
Irish racing driver Alex Dunne revealed the extent of the harrowing abuse he faced after his crash caused multiple DNFs in Monaco in the last race weekend. Speaking to The Race, the Offaly teenager accepted the blame for the crash in Monte Carlo which left him with multiple grid penalties for the Barcelona sprint and feature races last weekend. He said: 'I don't think there's any point in me commenting on Monaco really, what happened, happened. 'But I think moving forward, it's clear in these scenarios, maybe sometimes you just need to rein it back a bit. 'Everyone knows Monaco Turn 1, if you come out in the lead, the chance of you finishing there is pretty high. 'Everyone around me is still pushing me on, McLaren and the team are still fully behind me and happy with how I'm doing. So yeah, couple of things to change but should be fine.' He was then asked whether his comeback drive from P19 to 2nd had silenced his critics. He didn't know, as the abuse he received after the events of the Monaco feature race forced him to delete social media from his phone. 'I got a lot of stuff after Monaco, normally I'm not someone who reads things and gets annoyed by them," he said. 'But, I think an hour after the race, I deleted social media off my phone because I've ever received such bad messages in my life. 'A lot of the stuff I got was really, really bad and quite upsetting to be honest. But you know, I think...' His answer trailed off after this as he became visibly emotional before the interview moved onto other topics. McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella - who takes charge of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, of which the 19-year-old is a member - told The Race 'Alex is doing very well, he's a very fast driver, very talented, and the situation he had in Monaco was one of those situations where you can learn a lot. 'If we think, multiple world champions they went through situations that were very important to finetune the way they go racing. 'The way he raced today, the way he managed to overtake cars in a very clean way in the first lap, stay calm and see how the situation would have evolved, and capitalise when the opportunity came, was an immediate response to the situation he had in Monaco, and the pressure that came from these social media comments, for me that's something that makes me very proud of him. 'I think it was genuine. I think we need to realise that we live in a difficult world in which people can attack people really with no foundation, sometimes no competence, so we're completely behind Alex, not only on track but also off-track from this point of view." While it would be great to get an Irish driver on the F1 grid, it may be a ways away yet, with a McLaren promotion unlikely until at least 2027 when Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris's contracts run out. If the opportunity arises, though, it may be difficult to look past the Offaly man, with his performances in the F2 championship, specifically his ability to bounce back from his Monaco blip, beginning to turn heads in the sport.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish driver Alex Dunne qualifies 5th in Spain but hit with big penalties
Alex Dunne qualified in 5th place for the Spanish F2 Grand Prix in Barcelona, with Arvid Lindblad becoming the youngest pole-sitter in F2 history. However Dunne will serve a 13-place grid penalty for the sprint race on Saturday, leaving him in P18, and a separate 3-place drop means he will start from 8th place on the grid for Sunday's feature race. The championship leader Luke Browning qualified in 8th, which will become P7 after the penalties are applied. Dunne received a 3-place penalty for both Barcelona races after misjudging the pace of Victor Martins as both cars entered the pit lane, with the Offaly teenager making contact with the back of the Frenchman's car as he slammed on the brakes. The 10-place grid penalty for the sprint race due to his role in the Monaco pile-up last time out is added to the 3-place penalty, resulting in a 13-place drop for the Rodin Motorsport driver. With 8 penalty points on his license, he now runs the risk of a race ban should he reach 12 points. Dunne's first lap, a 1:25.905, was good enough for 5th position after all the cars had set a time, with the Offaly man setting the early pace. The McLaren Driver Development Programme driver went out early during the final runs, setting a lap good enough for P2 with a 1:25.602 in the early stages before he was overtaken by Sebastian Montoya, Kush Maini, Roman Stanek and the polesitter Lindblad. Meanwhile, practice is ongoing in F1 with a much-touted technical directive on front wing flexion coming into effect this weekend. The change aims to tighten the cars together, but so far in practice, it seems that the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are still on top. The F2 sprint race begins at 1:15pm Irish time on Saturday, while the feature race goes lights out at 9am on Sunday.
