Ex-McLaren star in talks to sign with rival F1 team after Red Bull snub

Former McLaren junior Alex Dunne is reportedly in talks to sign with a rival F1 team after his mysterious departure from the papaya squad earlier this season.

The Irish racer currently sits in P5 in the F2 drivers' standings with just one round to go in Abu Dhabi, but he looks set to end the campaign without backing from an F1 team, despite starting the year repping papaya.

The 20-year-old joined McLaren's driver development programme in May 2024 and took to the wheel of McLaren's F1 machinery in FP1 at both the 2025 Austrian and Italian grands prix.

But in October of this year, Dunne and McLaren announced they had 'mutually' decided to part ways, meaning he would no longer help to fulfill the team's rookie driver outings in FP1 or race in McLaren colours in F2.

Following confirmation of his mid-season McLaren exit, rumours began to swirl that Red Bull were interested in snapping up the young talent, with motorsport advisor Helmut Marko seemingly very interested in signing him.

However, a report from the BBC has now revealed that whilst Marko is said to have been in favour of signing Dunne, other senior members of the team were not.

Could Dunne make it to F1 with Alpine?

Ahead of both the F1 and F2 season finales in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Red Bull confirmed that Isack Hadjar would be moving up to the main team to partner Max Verstappen for 2026, with F2 star Arvid Lindblad making the step up to Racing Bulls.

This could hypothetically make room for Dunne in Red Bull's junior talent roster but team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed the Irishman is not part of the team's plans.

However, a new F1 team have now entered the mix and could provide the ex-McLaren driver with a seat on the grid in the future.

The report from the BBC stated that after being snubbed by Red Bull, Dunne is in talks with Alpine about a role in their driver development programme, where he could potentially join former F2 driver Paul Aron, and many other F1 hopefuls.

It is understood that Dunne and his team are now in talks with Alpine about a role in their programme for 2026, and though an immediate promotion up to F1 would not be on the cards, the opportunity could come sooner rather than later.

Aron last competed in F2 in 2024 and has instead used 2025 to focus on his role as reserve and development driver with the Enstone-based squad.

But having competed in multiple FP1 sessions, he was still not chosen to replace Franco Colapinto on the grid in 2026, which could suggest Alpine are on the hunt for a talent that could provide them with better results than the current zero points that Colapinto has earned since replacing Jack Doohan earlier this year.

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