Alex Dunne will take another step in his burgeoning career this weekend when the Offaly man will get behind the wheel of the McLaren Formula One car for Friday's first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old has had numerous highs in the FIA Formula 2 feeder series this year. Driving for the Rodin team, the McLaren development driver has won two feature races in Bahrain and Imola, and currently leads the driver standings by three points ahead of the Netherlands' Richard Verschoor.
He is also a reserve and development driver for McLaren's Formula E team.
Dunne has already had the opportunity to test drive an older McLaren F1 car, doing so at Zandvoort last month but this Friday at the Red Bull Ring will mark his first opportunity to drive the MCL39 during a grand prix weekend.
Under the rules for 2025, F1 teams are required to field young drivers in free practice twice during the year, increasing from one in previous seasons.
In Friday's hour-long FP1 session, which will start at 12.30pm Irish time, Dunne will sit in for McLaren driver Lando Norris, who is second in the Formula One drivers standings behind team-mate Oscar Piastri after the duo collided in Canada in the last round.
"It's an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria. 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.
"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."
While Dunne will participate in FP1, he will also be looking to bolster his F2 title bid with Austria also hosting the seventh round of the second tier series' championship.
