Dunne 'confident' of Formula 2 title push in 2026

Ireland's Alex Dunne says he is "confident" he will be able to fight for the Formula 2 title in 2026.

Dunne will stay with Rodin Motorsport for a second season after a strong rookie year.

The 20-year-old won two races and claimed eight podiums as he finished fifth in the standings.

"I’m really happy to be staying with Rodin for the 2026 season," said Dunne.

"I’ve built a great relationship with the whole team and the way we work together is really positive.

"I’m confident that we will be fighting for the title next year."

Dunne had a stellar rise through the junior ranks as he dominated British F4 in 2022 and finished second in Italian F4, behind now-Mercedes F1 driver Kimi Antonelli.

He finished second in his rookie season in the British GB3 Championship, and stepped up to Formula 3 in 2024.

While he secured two podiums in his first year driving on Formula 1 weekends and was picked up by McLaren to join their driver development programme, he was only able to finish 14th in the standings.

However, he returned to form in 2025 as he joined Rodin Motorsport for a first season in F2, and he led the championship in the early part of the season thanks to impressive wins in Bahrain and Imola, as well as pole position around the streets of Monaco.

Despite strong pace throughout the season, Dunne's championship charge soon fell away.

In Austria, he finished second in the feature race but was disqualified for excessive plank wear on his car, and in Belgium he dominated to win in the rain but was demoted to ninth for a start infringement, which did not impact his performance in the race.

This put him on the back foot, and while he was able to grab his eighth podium of the season in Qatar, he could not reignite his championship challenge as Italy's Leonardo Fornaroli took the title.

Dunne's season ended with an accident in the early stages of the feature race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Benn Huntingford, sporting director at Rodin Motorsport, said the team were "really pleased" to re-sign Dunne for 2026.

"He’s made strong progress throughout this season and we’ve seen real maturity in how he approaches his work, both on and off the track," he said.

"With the experience he’s gained and the continuity we now have, I’m confident he can take another big step forward. It’s great to continue this journey together."

Dunne made a big impression in June when competing for McLaren in his first Formula 1 practice session, finishing fourth and was just 0.069 seconds behind championship challenger Oscar Piastri.

After another F1 outing at Monza in September, Dunne made a surprise departure from McLaren's Driver Development Programme in October by mutual agreement.

In the build-up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was reported by BBC Sport that Dunne was in talks with Alpine to join their driver development programme after a deal with Red Bull did not come to fruition.

His team-mate at Rodin will be Norwegian driver Martinius Stenshorne, who completed the final two rounds of the season with the team after he stepped up from Formula 3.

Such was Dunne's dominance over his team-mates this season, he scored 150 points compared to three from Amaury Cordeel, who completed 12 of the 14 rounds, and two from Stenshorne.