Red Bull F1 reveal huge interest for outgoing McLaren star

Dunne facing away from the camera towards McLaren boss Brown in the paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull F1 reveal huge interest for outgoing McLaren star

Alex Dunne and McLaren have parted ways

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 3 October 2025 19:27

Red Bull F1 team have revealed that there is much interest in F2 driver Alex Dunne, who left McLaren earlier this week.

Dunne, who joined McLaren's driver development programme in May 2024, has now parted ways with the team, despite the fact that the Irish teenager competed in two F1 practice sessions for the outfit this year, at Monza and Baku.

It was thought that the 19-year-old was part of McLaren Racing's long-term plans, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris clearly having nailed down the two full-time seats on the F1 grid for now.

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In F2, Dunne has claimed two feature race wins in 2025 and is currently fifth in the standings, all while being a part of the McLaren driver development programme and standing in as a test and reserve driver for their Formula E team in the squad's final year in that series.

But, his ties with McLaren are no more and, heading into the final two rounds of the F2 championship, he has said that he is 'very excited' for what's to come in the future, teasing a potential team move.

There have been rumours that Red Bull are looking at swooping in to take the Irishman for their driver academy, with Helmut Marko said to be a big fan of Dunne, and the team have now provided an official response to those rumours.

In a statement given to GPFans, a Red Bull spokesperson said: "Alex is a talented driver and will be of interest to many in the paddock but Red Bull will only comment on drivers who are signed to the Red Bull programme."

Where will Dunne race in 2026?

While not ruling themselves out of a move for Dunne, in that statement Red Bull also hinted that lots of other teams are looking at the Irishman.

Alpine and Racing Bulls are two teams who have not finalised their driver lineups for 2026 as of yet, with Alpine in particular looking likely to replace current driver Franco Colapinto.

The young Argentine is yet to have scored a point across 11 race weekends in 2025 since being called on to replace Jack Doohan, and is under pressure to perform in the remainder of the season.

There are rumours that reserve driver Paul Aron could be called in to partner Pierre Gasly for 2026, but could the Enstone-based outfit sign Dunne to become their reserve driver or full-time racer instead?

Alpine have Aron, Colapinto and Doohan all in their ranks, as well as F2 driver Kush Maini, who also acts as a test and reserve driver for the team.

But the Enstone-based outfit have expressed a desire to potentially sign more young drivers as they look to return to championship success in the future under the guidance of Flavio Briatore.

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Red Bull McLaren Alex Dunne