Red Bull F1 chief confirms talks with McLaren star after team release

Red Bull F1 chief Helmut Marko has confirmed their interest in a McLaren driver following their team release.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren announced that they would be parting ways with young driver and Irish phenom Alex Dunne, after being part of their driver development program for two years.

Dunne, who currently competes in Formula 2, took part in two FP1 sessions for McLaren in Austria and Monza setting the fourth and 16th fastest times in these respective sessions.

Alongside impressive work in F1 machinery, Dunne has also showcased his talent in F2 and has won twice in his rookie campaign thus far.

However, with McLaren content with their driver lineup of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, there is no room at the team to promote Dunne. Since his release, reports suggest Red Bull are interested in the young driver with Marko confirming contact with Dunne in a recent interview.

Could Dunne join the Red Bull family?

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, Marko confirmed that the team would be talking to Dunne, and explained: “Alex Dunne is a very fast, aggressive, young driver. That makes him a good fit for Red Bull.

“And because he's absolutely free now, revoked by mutual agreement with McLaren, that's someone we will talk to for sure."

If Dunne were to earn a drive at Red Bull or their sister team Racing Bulls, it means one of their current drivers would have to leave the outfit altogether.

Following his podium heroics at the Dutch GP, Isack Hadjar has been tipped to race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026 which in turn would depose current incumbent Yuki Tsunoda.

The Japanese racer currently languishes at P17 in the standings with 20 points, while team-mate Verstappen currently has 253 more points than Tsunoda.

There is still hope for Tsunoda if his performances improve in the remaining six rounds however, and the 25-year-old could be demoted back to Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson.

However, with two hungry F2 drivers in Dunne and Arvid Lindblad eager for their opportunity in F1, even a move to Racing Bulls remains uncertain for Tsunoda.

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