Alex Dunne took his eighth Formula 2 podium of the season in Qatar [Getty Images]Andrew Benson - F1 Correspondent; Andy Gray - BBC Sport NI JournalistTue, December 2, 2025 at 3:55 PM UTC·2 min readIreland's Alex Dunne is in talks with Alpine about a role in their driver development programme after he missed out on a deal with Red Bull.
The 20-year-old is fifth in the Formula 2 standings with two victories and eight podiums in his rookie season, with one round remaining in Abu Dhabi.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDunne had been with McLaren's driver development programme from May 2024 until October, when he announced he had left the Formula 1 frontrunners in a surprise move.
He had impressed on his Formula 1 practice debut in Austria in June, when he finished the session in fourth place and just 0.069 seconds behind championship challenger Oscar Piastri.
After leaving McLaren, he had been linked with a move to Red Bull's junior academy, and team adviser Helmut Marko said Dunne was "very like a Red Bull driver".
However, while Marko is said to have wanted to take on Dunne, other senior members of Red Bull did not, and Formula 1 team principal Laurent Mekies has told BBC Sport that Dunne is not part of their plans.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDunne and his team are now in talks with Alpine about a role in their driver development programme for 2026.
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Alpine, who are currently last in F1's constructor standings, have a number of drivers in their academy.
Jack Doohan, who started the season driving for Alpine in F1 before he was replaced by Franco Colapinto, is still on the books of the French manufacturer.
Former F2 title challenger Paul Aron is Alpine's reserve driver and has participated in F1 practice sessions for both his parent team and Sauber this season.
Formula 2 drivers Gabriele Mini and Kush Maini are also part of the team's junior programme.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDunne is set for a second season with Rodin Motorsport in Formula 2 next season after he challenged for the championship in his first campaign.
After victories in Bahrain and Imola, Dunne led the standings in the early stages of the season but technical infringements in Austria, which saw him disqualified from second place, and Belgium, where he dropped from first to ninth, along with on-track incidents in Italy and Azerbaijan, damaged his title hopes.
