McLaren Racing cuts ties with rising F2 star Alex Dunne
McLaren Racing has officially ended its contract with young racing talent Alex Dunne, bringing a surprising conclusion to their partnership.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Alex over the last year and to contribute to his growth as a driver,” the Woking-based team announced in a brief statement.
“We wish Alex all the best for his career going forward.”
The 19-year-old Irish driver has been making waves in Formula 2 this season, currently sitting fifth in the championship standings.
He’s already claimed two feature race victories in Bahrain and Imola this year – impressive achievements for a driver his age.
F1 fans might remember Dunne from his FP1 appearances at the Austrian and Italian Grands Prix, where he got his first taste of Formula 1 machinery.
## Red Bull Racing showing interest
About a month ago, Red Bull Racing began showing serious interest in Dunne’s situation.
Sources close to the situation revealed that Red Bull representatives have already had conversations with Dunne’s management team.
The interest appears mutual, with the young Irishman reportedly open to a potential move to the energy drink giant’s racing program.
As of today, nothing has been officially agreed between Dunne and Red Bull, but talks are ongoing.
McLaren was apparently caught off guard by these developments. The team believed they had secured Dunne’s services for several years to come.
However, that wasn’t actually the case. Dunne’s agreement with McLaren was set to expire after this season anyway.
McLaren had been making plans for Dunne’s 2025 season, including a potential move to the highly competitive Japanese Super Formula series – often considered the closest championship to F1 in terms of car performance.
In the end, the team and driver couldn’t agree on any future plans, leading to this early separation.
For a young driver like Dunne, this could actually be good news. Red Bull’s driver development program has launched numerous careers into F1, including world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Where will the talented Irishman end up next? Racing fans will be watching closely as this story develops.
