McLaren Surprises: Alex Dunne Out of F1 Development Program

McLaren Surprises by Ending Agreement with Irish Prospect Alex Dunne

McLaren has announced the unexpected termination of its development agreement with rising Irish star Alex Dunne, who was previously considered for a future in Formula 1. Dunne has been released from the champion team’s driver program “with immediate effect”. The Formula 2 race winner impressed in his F1 debut in Austria, when he replaced Lando Norris in the initial practice, finishing only 0.069 seconds behind the fastest time of Oscar Piastri, current championship leader. After the news was confirmed on Thursday, Dunne posted on social media that he is “very excited about what’s coming”. It is understood that the separation occurred after McLaren and Dunne failed to reach an agreement on what their future within the team would be.

Alex Dunne has left McLaren.

Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMcLaren does not have a seat available for 2026 and both Piastri and Norris are tied with long-term agreements. The available places on the grid elsewhere are scarce. Alpine has not yet decided whether to continue with Franco Colapinto in 2026, and Dunne could be an unexpected option for them. Red Bull could also be an option: the team has not yet decided who will accompany Max Verstappen next season, although Racing Bulls rookie Isak Hadjar seems to be the favorite to move up.

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Sources have revealed that Red Bull is interested in promoting F2 driver Arvid Lindblad to the junior team next year, which means that Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson will likely leave. Dunne could be an option to fill the void left by Lindblad’s promotion as the next in line for Red Bull. In a statement, McLaren wrote: “It has been a pleasure to work with Alex during the last year and to have been able to contribute to his success and growth as a driver through the McLaren Driver Development Programme.”