System 1 title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are tied all the way down to long-term contracts at McLaren, however the draw back is that they haven’t any room for his or her different star coming by way of
Now that the mud has settled after the “finest day of his life”, System 2 title contender Alex Dunne finds himself in a curious place. The Irish driver is being touted as a possible future System 1 star, however with no apparent route into the game.
A member of the McLaren driver academy, the 19-year-old has emerged as one of many brightest skills of his class. And that was on full show on the Austrian Grand Prix on the finish of June, when he received the possibility to drive an F1 automotive in an official timed session for the primary time.
Not simply any outdated F1 automotive – the McLaren normally piloted by Lando Norris. And what an impression he made, posting a time adequate for fourth-place on the finish of the primary follow session on the Crimson Bull Ring, lower than one-tenth slower than one of the best effort of championship chief Oscar Piastri within the different papaya-coloured automotive.
“That is undoubtedly one of the best day of my life,” Dunne mentioned over the radio on the finish of that session. He additionally received a thank-you word from Norris on the finish of the weekend, after the Brit received the F1 race and praised the junior driver for serving to to arrange his machine along with his suggestions from that first hour of follow.
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Dunne’s F2 weekend in Spielberg did not go to plan. He seemed to have completed second within the function race, after scoring three factors within the dash, however was later disqualified as a result of his automotive failed post-race checks for extreme put on to the plank.
However he made up for it at Silverstone, once more ending second within the function race however this time preserving it, overwhelmed solely by Aston Martin reserve and fellow F2 title rival Jak Crawford. The American is second within the championship, eight factors forward of Dunne in third, whereas F2 veteran Richard Verschoor sits six factors clear on the prime in his fifth season within the class.
READ MORE: Lando Norris handed warning by McLaren chief as controversial penalty proves essentialREAD MORE: Crimson Bull F1 chief admits snubbing Nico Hulkenberg – ‘He has a very good contract’
However, of the three, Dunne is the one who’s being most hotly tipped for a future in F1. However a promotion from throughout the McLaren set-up appears to be firmly off the desk with Piastri and Norris dominating the F1 championship and each tied all the way down to long-term contracts.
“Our drivers aren’t going anyplace. They’re very glad, we’re very glad, so there is not any want to take a look at another drivers,” mentioned McLaren chief government Zak Brown at Silverstone final week. And the state of affairs will put McLaren in a dilemma if Dunne wins the F2 title, because the championship’s guidelines would then stop him from persevering with to race at that degree.
“If he wins F2 this yr, what are they going to do with him?” requested BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson just lately. It is a good query. Final yr, they misplaced one other promising academy driver, Gabriel Bortoleto, to Sauber for precisely the identical motive – there isn’t a direct pathway to F1 proper now at McLaren.
“I’d assume they’ll be there for fairly some time,” Dunne advised Mirror Sport in April this yr, referring to Norris and Piastri. “If this yr goes actually robust and I’m type of knocking on the door of F1, then we’ll simply have to attend and see what occurs.”
In that interview, Dunne indicated that he would take into account racing for McLaren in IndyCar, if such a chance have been to come up. However he additionally made it clear: “If I can nonetheless have the possibility to be in F1, that is ideally what I wish to do,” suggesting he’d choose to comply with Bortoleto out of the door if one other outfit may give him a System 1 seat sooner.
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