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Alex Dunne

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Alex Dunne
Dunne in 2022
NationalityRepublic of Ireland Irish
Born (2005-11-11) 11 November 2005 (age 19)
Offaly, Ireland
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season2024
Current teamMP Motorsport
Car number9
Starts20 (20 entries)
Wins0
Podiums2
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish14th in 2024
Previous series
2023
2022
2022
2022
2021
2021
GB3 Championship
F4 British Championship
Italian F4 Championship
Formula 4 UAE Championship
ADAC Formula 4
F4 Spanish Championship
Championship titles
2022F4 British

Alexander Dunne (born 11 November 2005) is an Irish racing driver who most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship with MP Motorsport. He previously won the 2022 F4 British Championship, and was the 2023 GB3 runner-up with Hitech.[1][2][3]

He is a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

Career

[edit]

Karting

[edit]

Dunne began karting at the age of eight, taking a number of victories in local competitions.[4] He would then progress to national competitions in 2015, winning the Motorsport Ireland 'IRL' and '0' Plates and also taking home the Ironside Trophy. That year he would also make his first competitive appearance outside of Ireland, racing in the Super 1 National Championship in the United Kingdom. Following two years of competing on the British Isles, Dunne started racing in mainland Europe in 2018. He would stay in European karting until 2020, with his highlight being winning the WSK Champions Cup in 2019.[5]

Formula 4

[edit]

2021

[edit]

Dunne made his single-seater racing debut in 2021, racing for Pinnacle Motorsport in the F4 Spanish Championship.[6] His season started out in positive fashion, as he scored a pole position on debut and, having fallen back to fifth owing to a poor start, finished third in his first ever race.[7] However, following just three rounds him and the team parted ways, leaving the Irishman 16th in the overall standings by season's end.

It was announced in September of the same year that Dunne would be joining US Racing as part of their ADAC F4 Championship line-up.[8] At his first round at the Hockenheimring, the Irish driver picked up two second places, with his next appearance at the track yielding a pair of pole positions. He finished eighth in the standings, beating a number of full-time competitors.

2022

[edit]
Dunne driving at the Red Bull Ring during the 2022 Italian F4 Championship.

At the beginning of 2022, Dunne competed in the F4 UAE Championship for Hitech GP in preparation for his European campaign.[9] He would achieve his first ever win in car racing at the Dubai Autodrome through unusual circumstances, as, during a red flag, all drivers bar Dunne parked up in the pitlane instead of the start/finish straight, giving them all a five-second penalty.[10] Despite being overtaken by Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the restart, the Irishman remained closely behind the Italian to take victory. He would win another race during the final round of the championship, as he finished sixth in the standings.

For his European season, Dunne stayed with US Racing to compete in the Italian F4 Championship, partnering Kacper Sztuka, Marcus Amand, Pedro Perino and Nikhil Bohra.[11] In the first round of the campaign at Imola, Dunne amassed a triple of podiums, having overtaken PHM Racing's Nikita Bedrin in the dying embers of Race 1 to pick up second place and having stormed to the front in Race 2, holding off a fast-charging Rafael Câmara until the checkered flag.[12] Despite losing control of the car in Race 3 after hitting a sausage kerb on lap one, the Irishman was able to recover to third. However, despite a podium at Misano and another one at Spa-Francorchamps, he would be shuffled out of the top two in the championship, being overtaken by Prema drivers Rafael Câmara and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Irishman came back to winning ways at the Red Bull Ring, taking two victories and an additional podium, thus narrowing the gap to his two competitors.[13] However, despite three second-placed finishes in the remaining two events, Dunne would have to settle for second in the standings, with Antonelli having attained an unassailable lead during the season finale.

During the same year, Dunne also raced in the British F4 series with Hitech.[14] He started his season out in commanding fashion, winning the pair of main races at the season opener at Donington Park, whilst taking second in the reversed-grid race.[15] The following round at Brands Hatch would provide mixed results, as, despite a dominant win in Race 1, Dunne ended up finishing out of the points in both other races.[16] Round 3 at the Thruxton Circuit would once again bring success, with the Irishman winning races 1 and 3 and extending his championship lead, having experienced a hard battle with Carlin driver Ugo Ugochukwu on Saturday.[17] Dunne once again won the opening race at the next round held at Oulton Park,[18] but he would only finish third in Race 3, having lost out to Louis Sharp and Oliver Gray at the start.[19] The Irish driver experienced a difficult start to the event at Croft, finishing seventh in Race 1, although Dunne was able to take advantage from a stall by poleman Georgi Dimitrov in Race 2 to take victory.[20] In Sunday's main race, which Dunne started from tenth, he clawed his way back to third place by the checkered flag, with his closest championship rival Gray closing the gap between the pair by winning the race.[21] After a less successful round at Knockhill, Dunne bounced back with a pair of victories in the main races at Snetterton and Thruxton respectively, thus setting a new record for most victories in a single British F4 season.[22][23] At the penultimate round in Silvestone, Dunne finished on the podium in Race 1 despite being involved in a collision with Gray, and took another third place in the final race of the event.[24][25] Despite missing the final round, instead having chosen to complete his campaign in Italian F4, Dunne was crowned champion at the final weekend, with his points gap having been insurmountable.[26]

GB3

[edit]

For the 2023 season, Dunne progressed to the GB3 Championship, returning to Hitech Grand Prix.[27][28] At the beginning of his season, he competed in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Hitech Grand Prix, for the final two rounds.[29]

Macau Grand Prix

[edit]

After his first weekend venture in an F3 car at Imola, in which he set the fastest time on a rain affected test, Dunne finished first, over six seconds ahead of the man that beat him to the GB3 Championship, Callum Voisin, impressing many fans and sponsorship teams alike.[30] This led to him gaining a place for the Hitech Pulse-Eight team at the aclaimed Macau Grand Prix. Dunne impressed on his initial runs coming 5th in Q1,[31] 6th in Q2,[32] eventually leaving him in 6th for the qualifying race. In which he swiftly moved up to 2nd thanks to a brave move on Gabriele Minì. He remained there, thanks to a stellar drive from teammate Luke Browning.[33] However, misery would pile in the main race as he crashed out, misjudging his braking point while trying to overtake Browning.[34]

Dunne is set to return to the Macau Grand Prix in 2024, albeit in Formula Regional machinery, with SJM Theodore Prema Racing.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

[edit]
Dunne driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2024 Spielberg Formula 3 round

Dunne joined MP Motorsport for the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship, completing the team's lineup alongside Red Bull juniors Kacper Sztuka and Tim Tramnitz.[35]

Formula One

[edit]

Ahead of the 2024 Imola Formula 3 round in May, Dunne was announced to be joining the McLaren Driver Development Programme.[36]

Personal life

[edit]

He is the son of Noel Dunne, a former racing driver who won the Irish Formula Ford F1600 series on two occasions.[37]

Karting record

[edit]

Karting career summary

[edit]
Season Series Team Position
2015 Motorsport Ireland ‘IRL’ Plate 1st
Motorsport Ireland ‘0’ Plate 1st
T. Rogers Memorial Cup 1st
Ironside Trophy 1st
Super 1 National Championship — IAME Cadet 42nd
2016 LGM Series — IAME Cadet 20th
Motorsport Ireland ‘0’ Plate 1st
2017 LGM Series — IAME Cadet 2nd
ROK Cup International Final — Mini ROK 5th
Super 1 National Championship — IAME Cadet 4th
Kartmasters British Grand Prix — IAME Cadet Primo Racing 3rd
2018 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Forza Racing NC
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 15th
WSK Open Cup — OKJ 26th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 37th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 11th
IAME International Final — X30 Junior 11th
WSK Final Cup — OKJ 29th
2019 WSK Champions Cup — OKJ Forza Racing 1st
South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ 31st
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 40th
Coupe de France — OKJ 22nd
Italian Championship — OKJ 10th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ Tony Kart Racing Team 7th
WSK Euro Series — OKJ 11th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ NC
2020 WSK Euro Series — OK DR Srl 57th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OK Birel ART Racing Srl 25th
Champions of the Future — OK 21st
CIK-FIA World Championship — OK Energy Corse Srl 26th
WSK Open Cup — OK 17th
Sources:[38][39]

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2018 Forza Racing OKJ SAR
QH
40
SAR
R
DNQ
PFI
QH
18
PFI
R
24
AMP
QH
23
AMP
R
19
LEM
QH
9
LEM
R
28
37th 2
2019 Tony Kart Racing Team OKJ ANG
QH
12
ANG
R
7
GEN
QH
2
GEN
R
2
KRI
QH
12
KRI
R
11
LEM
QH
12
LEM
R
29
7th 43
2020 Birel ART Racing Srl OK ZUE
QH
8
ZUE
R
33
SAR
QH
12
SAR
R
22
WAC
QH
WAC
R
25th 3

Racing record

[edit]

Racing career summary

[edit]
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2021 F4 Spanish Championship Pinnacle Motorsport 9 0 1 0 1 30 16th
ADAC Formula 4 Championship US Racing 8 0 2 3 2 76 8th
2022 F4 British Championship Hitech Grand Prix 27 11 11 11 17 412 1st
Formula 4 UAE Championship 20 2 0 1 4 168 6th
Formula 4 UAE Championship - Trophy Round 2 0 1 0 1 N/A NC
Italian F4 Championship US Racing 20 3 1 3 11 258 2nd
2023 GB3 Championship Hitech Grand Prix 23 5 1 8 7 466 2nd
Macau Grand Prix Hitech Pulse-Eight 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship MP Motorsport 20 0 0 0 2 50 14th
Macau Grand Prix SJM Theodore Prema Racing 0 0 0 0 0 N/A TBD

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points
2021 US Racing RBR
1
RBR
2
RBR
3
ZAN
1
ZAN
2
ZAN
3
HOC1
1

2
HOC1
2

2
HOC1
3

DNS
SAC
1
SAC
2
SAC
3
HOC2
1

Ret
HOC2
2

4
HOC2
3

4
NÜR
1

4
NÜR
2

15†
NÜR
3

8
8th 76

Complete F4 UAE Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points
2022 Hitech Grand Prix YMC1
1

4
YMC1
2

9
YMC1
3

23
YMC1
4

10
DUB1
1

9
DUB1
2

6
DUB1
3

6
DUB1
4

21
DUB2
1

8
DUB2
2

8
DUB2
3

8
DUB2
4

1
DUB3
1

4
DUB3
2

3
DUB3
3

7
DUB3
4

9
YMC2
1

4
YMC2
2

5
YMC2
3

1
YMC2
4

3
6th 168

Complete F4 British Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points
2022 Hitech Grand Prix DON
1

1
DON
2

27
DON
3

1
BHI
1

1
BHI
2

14
BHI
3

14
THR1
1

1
THR1
2

55
THR1
3

1
OUL
1

1
OUL
2

91
OUL
3

3
CRO
1

7
CRO
2

11
CRO
3

3
KNO
1

2
KNO
2

4
KNO
3

14
SNE
1

1
SNE
2

64
SNE
3

1
THR2
1

1
THR2
2

10
THR2
3

1
SIL
1

3
SIL
2

11
SIL
3

3
BHGP
1
BHGP
2
BHGP
3
1st 412

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2022 US Racing IMO
1

2
IMO
2

1
IMO
3

3
MIS
1

3
MIS
2

33†
MIS
3

7
SPA
1

10
SPA
2

2
SPA
3

5
VLL
1

4
VLL
2

4
VLL
3

Ret
RBR
1

1
RBR
2

3
RBR
3
RBR
4

1
MNZ
1

2
MNZ
2

6
MNZ
3

C
MUG
1

2
MUG
2

2
MUG
3

Ret
2nd 258

Complete GB3 Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2023 Hitech Grand Prix OUL
1

6
OUL
2

13
OUL
3

109
SIL1
1

4
SIL1
2

Ret
SIL1
3

612
SPA
1

1
SPA
2

1
SPA
3

618
SNE
1

4
SNE
2

2
SNE
3

129
SIL2
1

5
SIL2
2

6
SIL2
3

C
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

4
BRH
3

118
ZAN
1

1
ZAN
2

1
ZAN
3

168
DON
1

3
DON
2

1
DON
3

911
2nd 466

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

[edit]
Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race
2023 United Kingdom Hitech Pulse-Eight Dallara F3 2019 6th 2nd DNF
2024 Hong Kong SJM Theodore Prema Racing Tatuus F3 T-318 TBD TBD TBD

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2024 MP Motorsport BHR
SPR

12
BHR
FEA

9
MEL
SPR

7
MEL
FEA

16
IMO
SPR

14
IMO
FEA

16
MON
SPR

Ret
MON
FEA

16
CAT
SPR

2
CAT
FEA

7
RBR
SPR

4
RBR
FEA

10
SIL
SPR

22
SIL
FEA

Ret
HUN
SPR

20
HUN
FEA

16
SPA
SPR

23
SPA
FEA

10
MNZ
SPR

3
MNZ
FEA

4
14th 50

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Quinn, Trevor (27 April 2022). "Meet the Irish teen who wants to be Formula One's next big star". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. ^ Briscoe, Neil (20 April 2022). "Ireland's next motor racing star: 'I originally started at the age of nine'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. ^ Harrington, Eoin (7 May 2021). "From Clonbullogue To Circuit De Catalunya, Meet The 15-Year-Old Racing Star Of The Future". Balls.ie. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. ^ "CAREER SO FAR – Alex Dunne Racing". Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ^ "WSK Champions Cup 2019 - Finals | Kart News". www.vroomkart.com. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Pinnacle Motorsport confirms Alex Dunne for Spanish F4 Championship". us15.campaign-archive.com. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021.
  7. ^ Manila, Time Attack (5 May 2021). "Alex Dunne gives Pinnacle Motorsport first Spanish F4 podium at Spa". Time Attack Manila. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. ^ "US Racing ab Hockenheimring mit Alex Dunne | ADAC Formel 4". www.adac-motorsport.de (in German). Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Hitech confirm 2022 F4 UAE drivers Oliver Gray and Alex Dunne". Hitech Grand Prix. 16 January 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
  10. ^ motorlat (24 May 2022). "Ireland's next F1 star? Exclusive interview with British and Italian F4 championship leader Alex Dunne: "Formula One is the ultimate goal right now"". motorlat.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Alex Dunne joins US Racing for 2022 Italian Formula 4 Championship". motorsportireland.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  12. ^ "The Alex Dunne Show: 4 takeaways from Italian F4 at Imola". F1 Feeder Series. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Formula4 Italian Championship - Certified by FIA WSK Promotion Official Site- Alex Dunne, US Racing, flies at Red Bull Ring". www.f4championship.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  14. ^ Taylor, Lauren (20 April 2022). "Alex Dunne signs with Hitech GP for 2022 British F4 Campaign". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  15. ^ Taylor, Lauren (24 April 2022). "Alex Dunne wins season opener race at Donington Park in British F4 championship". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  16. ^ Buckle, Luke-John (31 May 2022). "British F4 Brands Hatch Indy 2022 (Saturday)". www.insideF2.com. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  17. ^ Meaden, Damian (28 May 2022). "Dunne recovers well to win Thruxton opener". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  18. ^ Meaden, Damian (11 June 2022). "Dunne races clear to victory in Oulton Park opener". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  19. ^ Meaden, Damian (12 June 2022). "Lightning start rewards Sharp with maiden victory". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  20. ^ Meaden, Damian (25 June 2022). "Dunne races clear to victory in reverse grid contest". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. ^ Meaden, Damian (26 June 2022). "Spectacular pass earns Gray first victory of 2022 in Croft finale". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  22. ^ Evans, Tom (17 August 2022). "Dunne dominates: 5 takeaways from British F4 at Snetterton". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  23. ^ McNamara, Rebecca (28 August 2022). "Record-breaker Dunne completes Thruxton brace". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  24. ^ McNamara, Rebecca (24 September 2022). "Sharp wins chaotic Silverstone opener as title rivals collide". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  25. ^ McNamara, Rebecca (25 September 2022). "Ollie Gray wins Silverstone finale to keep slender championship hopes alive". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  26. ^ McNamara, Rebecca (8 October 2022). "Alex Dunne provisionally secures 2022 ROKiT British F4 title". F4 Championship. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Record-breaking F4 champion Alex Dunne graduates to GB3 with Hitech GP". KartXpress. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Reigning Hitech ROKiT British F4 Champion Alex Dunne steps up to GB3 for 2023". British F3. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  29. ^ Wood, Ida (7 January 2023). "Hitech GP to run six drivers in FRegional Middle East". Formula Scout. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Dunne on top in the wet as F3 Imola test comes to a close". 24 October 2023.
  31. ^ https://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/uploads/attachment/2023-11/3320f07ec69a682045dc3e18ddfb3561.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  32. ^ https://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/uploads/attachment/2023-11/0ed6d7b564c841a638e04dd577c225cf.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  33. ^ https://www.gb-3.net/news/2023/nov/18/brilliant-browning-wins-macau-gp-qualifying-race-ahead-of-dunne [bare URL]
  34. ^ Klein, Jamie (20 November 2023). "F3 rookie Dunne: 'Nobody will remember' speed before Macau crash". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Alex Dunne completes MP Motorsport F3 lineup for 2024". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Formula 3 drivers Dunne and Stenshorne join McLaren Driver Development programme". Formula 1. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Meath teenager Alex Dunne eyes Formula One future after encouraging season". SportsJoe. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Alex Dunne | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  39. ^ Kartcom (27 June 2020). "Dunne Alexander". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
[edit]