Alex Dunne continued his fine Qualifying form in 2026 as he claimed a second row start for the Feature Race at the F2 Monaco GP on Sunday.
The 20-year-old was on pole here last year and looked rapid on the softs in Free Practice, leading the way. On the supersofts, however, it looked a bit trickier and he was P3.
In qualifying itself, the 2022 British F4 champion was fast but on the edge. A wide moment in La Rascasse was nearly a trip to the barriers.
On his final lap, Alex Dunne hit the outside wall at Antony Noghès but got to the line and ended up 0.110s slower than Rafael Câmara. That was P2 in Group A, P3 on the overall grid.
Alex Dunne not as happy with the car in 2026 Monaco GP F2 Qualifying
Alongside Dunne, plenty of other drivers hit walls in Qualifying as grip looked to be at a premium. On Thursday in Free Practice, the cars looked far more bolted to the track.
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets after the session, the Irishman explained the balance difficulties he faced and the complicated session that unfolded.
“It was tricky.
“I think it wasn’t quite as comfortable with the balance as I was in FP. I don’t know if the track conditions changed or what was different. In general, the feeling and the amount of grip I had wasn’t quite as good as what I had yesterday in free practice.
“I think it was a bit of a messy session. I had a mistake before the red flag. As I was getting ready to push again, there was a red flag in Turn 1 [for John Bennett’s crash]. It was a bit messy.
“The final push would have been a decent one until the last corner when I hit the wall. All of us probably, if we look through the data, I’m sure we can all find two tenths pretty easily.
“Overall, to be P3, is not too bad.”
Aiming for a solid Sprint
Thanks to a penalty handed out to Kush Maini, Alex Dunne starts the 2026 Monaco GP F2 Sprint Race from 7th on the grid.
Overtaking is virtually impossible on the streets of Monte Carlo, even when a driver has a loss of power (Daniel Ricciardo in 2018) or are on tyres that have fallen off significantly.
The driver from Offaly is expecting plenty of games tomorrow as everyone in the top 10 will look to create gaps and nab a fastest lap point as well on Saturday. He did it last year.
“I think if I can stay P8 (now P7), I’ll be pretty happy in general. It’s going to be very hard to move forward. If you can move forward, great.
“I think P8 is just on the cusp of starting in the points for the Sprint race. If I can bring home one or two points, then that would be nice. It’s always going to be tricky to pass.
“Actually, I would say the deg at this track is a lot higher than you would think. You just never really notice it because no one can make use of it because it’s too difficult to pass.
“In previous years, a lot of drivers have done push-cool-push like you would do in free practice to try and go for the fastest lap. So I imagine a lot of people will probably go in that direction.”
The regular interruptions in Monaco
No matter if it is F1, F2 or F3, red and yellow flags are a common theme due to crashes or debris. John Bennett crashed in Group A, with the bizarre incident in Group B between van Hoepen and Maini.
Asked if it is difficult to gain confidence and get into a good rhythm, Dunne explained he factors in stoppages during the Monaco event.
“I think it’s probably a bit different to other places.
“I would almost say that in other tracks a red flag would interrupt you more than it does here because I think a red flag at this track is always expected.
“Pretty much every year whether it’s quali, FP, a race or whatever, there’s always going to be at least one red flag. So I think you kind of always build in a little bit of margin and expect it to come at some point. I think then when it does come you’re more ready probably than you would be for other places.
“It is difficult. Tyre temps and brake temps are a tricky thing here because the lap is so short and there’s not a whole lot of straights.
“But overall I think we’re all at a pretty high level, so resetting quickly and getting back out again is something that we’re all relatively good at now.”
Comparisons to the 2025 F2 Monaco GP round for Alex Dunne
During his rookie season last year, Alex Dunne produced an outstanding performance in Qualifying to take pole position on his second visit to Monte Carlo. He was in F3 in 2024 for his first experience in real life.
Asked if it was the case of getting straight back into a rhythm or if it is markedly different, the Rodin Motorsport driver says there is small changes.
Despite going a tenth faster than his pole time of 2025, the Irishman admitted he felt a bit more comfortable with the car last year.
“I think it’s probably slightly different.
“In comparison to last year, I probably felt a bit more comfortable earlier on in free practice.
“But I think once you’re in quali mode, I think it doesn’t change a whole lot. I would say even in terms of car feeling I probably felt a bit more comfortable last year than what I did this year.
“I think the main experience you take from it is how important it is to build up through the weekend, so I think with that I probably felt a bit more confidence starting the first couple of laps in FP.
“But towards the end of quali, I don’t think it changes a whole lot.”
A day between practice and qualifying
The Monaco GP is the only one on the 2026 F2 calendar where Free Practice and Qualifying do not take place on the same day. Normally both sessions happen on a Friday.
Alex Dunne revealed he is a fan of this schedule.
“I quite like it to be honest. We have a nice lie-in in the morning. You get to chill out before quali.
“I think also, at least in my experience of racing, I think it’s quite good when you can sleep on it.
“You have a day through FP and then you can go back and relax and chill out and sleep on what happened through FP.
“And then when you wake up again you can go again in quali.
“For me I quite like it. I felt very comfortable from straight away from lap 1 and I felt the same last year as a rookie, so I think for me it doesn’t really change a whole lot.”
Racing Rafael Câmara again after four years
Back in 2022, Alex Dunne and Rafael Câmara were the biggest challengers to current F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the Italian F4 series. The Irishman ultimately pipped the Brazilian to 2nd in points.
Responding to a question from Pit Debrief about racing the Invicta driver once more in 2026, Alex Dunne was very complimentary of one of the strongest drivers on the current grid.
“I would say the most impressive thing about Rafa is his capability to grow a beard from the age of 16,” Dunne joked.
“We’ve raced against each other for quite a while. Obviously I think him and myself were fighting for P2 in the championship in Italian F4 back in 2022.
“Of course I think it was only a matter of time when we raced each other again. If we make it to F1 we were going to race against each other at another point on that journey, on that ladder.
“So yeah, I think Rafa’s been very impressive. He won F3 as a rookie and now he’s doing a good job in F2 as a rookie.
“I think in general it’s good to be racing against each other again.”
