For the first time since 1979, Ireland has a race winner at Formula 2 level, with Alex Dunne from Offaly dominating the F2 Bahrain Feature race on Sunday afternoon, the 200th in the category. The last one came at Donington Park 46 years ago when Derek Daly took victory in the European Formula Two Championship.
Making up for the Sprint race disappointment in the F2 Bahrain GP Feature
Alex Dunne is not shy on making moves as he has shown throughout his single-seater career. However, he went over the limit towards the end of the Sprint on Saturday, picking up a penalty for his rather desperate attempt to pass Ritomo Miyata into turn 8, breaking his front wing in the process.
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets on Sunday after his commanding win, the Irishman admitted he fell below his own standards on Saturday.
“Yeah, it’s got a nice ring to it for sure [winning on his second weekend in F2].
“We’re really happy. I think the team have done a mega job. I knew the pace was there to have a good result, but I think naturally, even if you know the pace is there, you probably would never expect a result like this.
“But I think the thing that makes it even sweeter is after the race we had yesterday. I mean I was a bit disappointed with myself towards the end of the Sprint race.
“I think we started the Sprint race really strong and then after the Safety Car, the second Safety Car restart, I definitely didn’t do the job — I hold myself to to a certain level and I don’t think it was at that level after the second Safety Car restart.
“So I think to bounce back like that in a dominant fashion is kind of a nice way to redeem myself and pay back the team.”
Alex Dunne on changing tactics in the F2 Bahrain Feature race
In the early stages of the races, race leader Leonardo Fornaroli and Alex Dunne had pulled out of the DRS to the cars behind. In fact the Irish driver was just over a second behind the current F3 champion until lap 5.
However, it quickly became clear Dunne was faster in his Rodin Motorsport machine. He made his move with DRS into turn 1 on lap 7 to take the lead.
From there he built a 4s gap to the Italian and Martí until he boxed at the end of lap 16 for hards. The softs went a very long way in Bahrain.
Although Luke Browning drove a fantastic race on the alternate strategy, he could never challenge the 19-year-old as Alex Dunne won the Bahrain F2 Feature by 8.2s thanks to his superb pace on the hards compared to his rivals on the same strategy. Fornaroli ended up 19s behind in P3 in the end. For the second year in a row, Rodin Motorsport took the win at Sakhir.
“To be honest, initially I hadn’t planned to go straight for the lead.
“I think a couple of laps before I passed Leo[nardo Fornaroli], I didn’t really feel like I was necessarily the quicker car, and then I think there was kind of like a switch between pace.
“Initially I didn’t necessarily feel much stronger, and then from one lap to the next it was kind of like a big deficit, and that’s kind of then when I went for the move.
“And after that it seemed like the pace was just really strong until the end of the race.
“You know, initially the plan was just kind of sit in P2. I knew I had a big gap behind so I just wanted to try and manage it the best I could.
“I think once we got in the lead and once I broke DRS to Leo, I think we could see that the pace was strong to have a good result, so I kind of just kept on pushing on. But I tried my best not to push too much.
“You know, I think when you’re in a position like that and you’re feeling comfortable and driving away, it is relatively easy to kind of lead yourself down the wrong road and push a little bit too hard, so I kind of tried to manage that.
“I asked the team for updates all the time to make sure I understood what was going on behind me. And yeah, I think we managed it well.”
A strong start to the F2 season for Alex Dunne
After making the jump from F3 to F2 over the winter, Alex Dunne has made a very impressive start to his first season in the category.
He qualified P5 in Melbourne but had to drop 10 places on the grid following controversy involving his Rodin Motorsport team during pre-season testing. A superb recovery to P9 in the Sprint showed the pace was there, although the McLaren junior knows qualifying is very important.
Dunne revealed some tweaks were made to make him feel more comfortable in the car following in-season testing in Bahrain, leading to a very strong showing at the weekend.
“It’s nice [to get a win so early].
“I think generally the overall pace has been pretty strong and pretty consistent. You know, we qualified fifth in Melbourne and fourth here. So I think the quali pace is pretty good.
“There were a couple of things in Melbourne and also in the test that as a driver I was struggling a little bit with the car. We changed a couple of things coming into this weekend to make it a little bit easier for me and I think it’s worked.
“So I think hopefully moving forward, I think qualifying is a bigger thing than the race, to be honest. If you qualify at the front, the rest is kind of how it is.
“I think we’ll just keep on focusing on that, but I feel pretty comfortable. So if we keep on performing and doing a good job then I think we’re in a good place.”
Alex Dunne on learning lessons from his F2 Bahrain Sprint race errors
A late race Safety Car threw the F2 Sprint race into chaos. The Irishman had been running in P4 thanks to a brilliant pass on Villagomez on lap 13.
However, a failed move on Richard Verschoor on the restart for P3 saw him drop behind Browning and Martí, before making contact with the Hitech at turn 6. Dunne dropped through the field near the end. Drivers on much fresher tyres who pitted behind the Safety Car came flying through.
On the final lap, a rather desperate move on Miyata resulted in contact and a broken front wing.
Asked how he regained composure following the disappointment of Saturday, Dunne explained he gave himself a stern talking to in his hotel room.
The 19-year-old is aware balancing risk and reward is key if he wants to challenge for a title this year.
“I went back to my hotel room looked in the mirror and said, ‘Alex, chill out.’
“Yesterday was just one of those races where I think I had made some some really good moves and I was kind of on a roll, let’s say, and I was constantly moving forward.
“And after that second Safety Car restart when it all bunched up again I just kind of tried to do too much in one go. I should have just been patient and waited.
“If I ended up finishing P4 then great, but instead trying to finish P3 instead of P4 i ended up finishing outside the points with a broken front wing. I think it was just one of those things where i should have been a bit more patient, but it’s something I’ve definitely learned from and I’ll make sure it won’t happen again.
“I knew straight away. Already in the middle of the braking zone when I went for the overtake I knew it was the wrong choice, but it was too late at that point so i kind of had to commit. But I knew straight away that it wasn’t the right thing.
“And then I think after that with the way the car is once you’re once you go offline and pick up rubber it’s really difficult to then bring it back and collect yourself.
“Yeah it was just just just one of those things where it was kind of a downward spiral after a move that wasn’t necessarily the best idea, so I’m glad that I picked it back up today.”
The support from his home country of Ireland and the increased help from McLaren
Since making his debut in single-seaters at Spa in 2021 when he took a sensational pole position on his debut in Spanish F4, the growth and support for Alex Dunne in Ireland has increased each year.
The driver from County Offaly feels extremely grateful for the support from his home country and how it has grown over the last 4 years.
He also touched on the increased levels of support from McLaren since he made the jump from F3 to F2. The Irishman joined the McLaren Development Driver Programme before Imola last year. Since then he signed as a reserve and development driver for them in Formula E. He took part in a rookie session in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
“It’s been pretty incredible, to be honest.
“I think to be an Irish driver at this level representing McLaren is something that’s pretty special for me and not only me but also for my whole family as well.
“Realistically I think towards the my karting career I’d never really expected to get this far. I think there was a couple of times where we were very close to stopping it all because financially we were struggling.
“To to have so much support from home and from McLaren and the people around me who’ve pushed me to get to where I am today is a very big thing. And yeah, I couldn’t be happier, to be honest.
“I think to be to be representing Ireland at this level and and not only that but to be racing at the front as well is quite a special thing.
“I can also feel the support from McLaren as well — I think a lot last year but especially this year they’ve really been pushing me on and trying to help me in in the best way they can, and they’ve really opened up the doors a lot more to me to try and help me develop and perform better as a driver. And I think that seems to be working so far.
“So yeah, I couldn’t be happier.
“I think since I made this step up to F2 […] the support from home has always been really good, but it’s definitely been another level this year.
“Every time I come in from a session or a race and I look at my phone to see all the messages I have from people, it’s always always kind things which is really nice.
“Yeah I think the the support has been has been really cool and it’s very special to me and something I hold close to my heart.”
Alex Dunne on the support of his parents and the journey to be a step away from F1
In Ireland, Motorsport is a long way down the order regarding popularity on a sporting scale. Along with the likes of football, rugby, golf, it’s a little island with its own sports: Gaelic football, hurling and camogie.
It peaked in the late 1990s as Jordan — owned and run by the Eddie Jordan — with Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Ferrari’s Irish driver Eddie Irvine contended for the Drivers’ Championship in 1999. Mika Häkkinen would ultimately win out.
For Alex Dunne to have made it to F2 is a remarkable achievement in itself. His parents, Noel and Liz, have given everything to help their son rise through the ranks. It’s been made even tougher due to the fact they are an every day family that did not have lots of money to help the 19-year-old.
An enormous amount of time, work and effort to get sponsors to help finance his career has seen Alex Dunne reach the final step before Formula 1. As he touched on earlier, they almost had to call it a day a few times due to a lack of budget.
Getting out of his Rodin Motorsport car following his win yesterday, Alex Dunne admitted he felt a little bit emotional as his Dad was there along with Zak Brown and others to congratulate him on his victory.
Dunne was also relieved to show what he can do. The Irish driver showed a lot of pace in F3 last year, but it didn’t quite come together in terms of results despite two podiums at Barcelona and Monza.
“Of course it was very, very special for me. My dad has been with me in my my entire career.
“Normally I’m not a very emotional person but I probably felt a little bit emotional when I saw him [when I was] getting out of the car. It was a very very very special thing for me.
“It’s been a long road to get here and not only has it been a long road but I think last year in F3 was more difficult than we would have liked. I kind of felt like we finished maybe where me as a driver not necessarily where my talent shows. Let’s say I felt like as a driver I’m better than what I showed last year.
“I think to have a result like this so early on in our F2 season is is a very special feeling, and I think it probably it means just as much to him as it does to me.
“It’s a massive family thing. I have pretty much everything in my motorsport career thanks to him. He’s done so much for me but not only him but my mom as well. It’s not just him, it’s a family thing. I have to say a massive thanks to both my parents.”
Following his win on Sunday in the F2 Feature race in Bahrain, Alex Dunne sits P2 in the Drivers’ Championship, a single point behind Leonardo Fornaroli.
