Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne heads into the ninth round of the 2026 F2 season at the Hungarian GP still searching for his first victory of the year, despite an impressive run of consistent results. The Irishman has consistently found himself in the top three on Fridays but has been unable to convert that one-lap pace into race results in recent rounds. Dunne last stood on the podium in the Barcelona Feature Race.
Ahead of the Hungarian GP, Dunne spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets during a virtual media session, reflecting on his season so far before Formula 2 heads into the summer break.
Catching up to Tsolov “going to be hard”
Heading into the weekend, Dunne sits 4th in the Drivers’ Standings on 108 points, trailing championship leader Nikola Tsolov by 53 points. While his consistency has kept him firmly in the championship fight, the Irishman will need a weekend where he scores a significant haul of points while his championship rivals struggle in order to close the gap.
“Well, I don’t know. I mean, realistically catching him is going to be hard. You know, I think if we end up looking like all of a sudden we’ve turned it around and we start catching him very quickly in terms of points, I think I’d be pretty surprised and I’d also be pretty impressed. I don’t really see it happening, to be honest.”, said Dunne when asked whether the Hungarian GP could prove to be a decisive round in his championship hopes.
He added: “I think, of course, we’re going to try our best, but making up that deficit of a gap when the grid is as close as it is and when he’s been as consistent as he is, it’s going to be very difficult. I think a lot of things would need to go wrong and we’d need to start winning or finishing in the top three every weekend, which is definitely possible, but it’s more unlikely than it is possible.”
“So, we’ll have to wait and see. I think so far I’m pretty happy with the job I’ve done. Bar the first two rounds, I feel like my consistency has been good and I feel like I’m performing at a high level.”
Dunne: Rodin “still a little bit behind” in race pace
The 20 year-old has been open about the team’s struggles with race pace, often finding themselves unable to match frontrunners Invicta Racing and Campos Racing. Dunne admitted that race pace remains one of the key areas where they are lacking this season.
“We just don’t seem to have the same race pace that we had last year. I think definitely something has changed with the tyres for sure this year and the philosophy that we had in the car last year just doesn’t really seem to be working as well this year.”
“Credit to the team. I think they’ve done a very good job in trying to understand what that is and we’re trying to understand how to get the most out of myself and how to try and improve the car to make up for what we’re losing at the moment. But I think we’re still a little bit behind.”
While he believes the rounds at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps marked a positive step forward for Rodin, he admitted that the progress is still not enough to reach where they want to be.
“I think from Silverstone and Spa, we definitely made a step forward, but the step forward we made is still not quite enough to be finding right where we want to be.”
“There’s still a long way to go” — Dunne on the teams’ title fight
Rodin Motorsport currently find themselves 2nd in the Teams’ Standings with 166 points, holding a mere three-point advantage over MP Motorsport. When asked what the team needs to do to maintain that position heading into the summer break, Dunne explained: “Of course, it would be nice to go into the summer break on a high note.”
“In terms of team’s championship and drivers’ championship, I’m not really paying attention to it at the moment, to be honest. There’s still a long way to go. So if we go into the summer break second or third or wherever, it doesn’t really matter. There’s a lot of rounds left until the end of the year.”
Focusing on the Hungarian GP, Dunne said he remains focused on maximising his qualifying performance and both races, while taking whatever result that comes his way.
“So I think for myself, I just want to try and maximise the weekend, get the most out of qualifying and get the most out of the races. And then where we end up is where we end up.”
“No added pressure” to get first 2026 win
Despite securing five podium finishes so far in 2026, Dunne remains in search of his first race victory of the season. When asked by Pit Debrief whether the wait has brought any added pressure, he said: “I mean, I’m not too fussed. I won one of your feature races last year as a rookie. So I’ve shown that I’m capable of doing that.”
“And I think realistically, there hasn’t really been an opportunity this year where I could have won a race and I haven’t. I think whatever the pace has been good, I’ve maximised on it. And I feel like I’ve done a relatively good job on that side. So if the opportunity comes, then great.”
“I’ll do my best to take the most of it. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”, Dunne said. “I’ve got the feeling of winning races in this championship before. So it’s not a feeling I’m missing or haven’t experienced. So I think there’s no added pressure on that.”
Re-learning the car and tyres during sophomore F2 season
“I mean, of course, it wasn’t expected, and it’s not necessarily ideal. But unfortunately, you’ve just kind of got to deal with what you’ve been given.”, Dunne said when asked whether he expected a bigger challenge in learning the car and tyres during his second season in Formula 2.
“And I think it was one of those things where we kind of figured out there was a change just by feeling, not really by actual information. So you kind of figure that out through the season, which of course makes it a little bit harder. So from that side, it wasn’t necessarily ideal.”
“I think coming into the season, I definitely saw myself as someone who was capable of fighting for the title. And I think we’re still in a good position to challenge for that. But obviously, we’re in a position where it’s just going to be a bit more difficult.”
Having passed the halfway mark of the season, the Irishman highlighted that he and the team are working hard to turn things around. Nonetheless, Dunne acknowledged that if the title does not happen, there is little more he can do beyond continuing to give his best.
“I think the team and I are going to try our best to turn it around and just have strong results and try and fight for consistent podiums and wins until the end of the season. But if that doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot we can do about that.”
Rodin’s continued qualifying success in 2026
“But I’m trying my best. I’m trying to get the most out of myself and the car every weekend.”, he said in continuation. “And sometimes we’ve just come up a little bit short. I think qualifying is definitely something I’ve been really pleased with.”
Despite taking a step back in race pace compared to last year, the Irishman praised Rodin Motorsport for consistently producing a strong car over one lap in qualifying. While acknowledging their current deficit in race pace, he remained confident that the team can identify what they are missing and close the gap to their competitors.
“I think I feel like how I’m performing on that side and how the team are delivering a car for me in qualifying has been really, really impressive. And I feel like I’ve been very happy with how that side of it is going.”
“But just like I said, on the race pace, we just still have a little bit to find as a team. But I think last year, the team did a really good job of developing and making it better through the year. So it’s a little bit more difficult at the moment, but I have no doubt that we should be able to find it.”
Dunne admits race pace has not been necessarily an “improvement” in 2026
Race pace was a recurring theme throughout Dunne’s responses, with the Irishman repeatedly highlighting it as an area that Rodin Motorsport continues to work on improving.
“I would say our pace in the race last year was definitely better than what it has been this year, so I’m not so sure about that. I think in terms of points, we’ve been relatively consistent, trying to make sure we bring home good points every weekend.”
He continued: “But I think in terms of management and pace, I would say last year was probably slightly better than this year. So I think we’ve been fairly consistent in bringing home points in the majority of the races. But I think in terms of managing it and pace and stuff, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s been an improvement.”
Dunne reflects on Spa-Francorchamps round
At Spa-Francorchamps, Dunne’s weekend ended in disappointment after he lost out on a podium finish in the Feature Race due to a track limits penalty. When asked whether his results at Spa-Francorchamps gave him confidence heading into this weekend, Dunne admitted that they did to a certain extent. However, having race at two high-speed circuits back-to-back, he noted that the Hungaroring presents a different challenge.
“I mean, it gives confidence to a certain degree, but at the same time, I think the general layout and the way the track is here is completely different to Spa. So I think the way you set up the car and the way you approach a race and stuff is completely different to what we had in Spa. And so we’re just on the two of the highest speed circuits we have of the year.”
“Now we come to a track that is mainly more medium and low speed. So I think what you need from the car to give you pace and things like that is a lot different than what you would need in Spa and Silverstone.”
While recognising the progress made in recent rounds, the 20 year-old hopes the improvements are not only specific to high-speed circuits. However, he added that they will have to wait and see if those improvements carry over into this weekend.
“But I do think some of the steps we’ve made hopefully should be in the right direction for the general year, not just for the higher-speed circuits, let’s say.”, Dunne said. “So we’ll have to wait and see. I hope it’s an improvement, but I could be proved wrong on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have to wait and find out.”
Track limits penalty was “one of those unfortunate things”
Reflecting on his weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Dunne continued: “But I think we’re making steps in the right direction. Of course, the track limit penalty in Spa wasn’t ideal. I think it was difficult for the stewards because so many people had track limit warnings.”
Recalling how he received the track limits penalty, he said that if he had been aware earlier that he was at risk of receiving a penalty, the Irishman would have taken extra precautions. Nonetheless, he took positives from the team’s pace at Spa-Francorchamps and hopes that performance can carry through into the remainder of the season.
“By the time I found out that I was in trouble with track limits, I just found out when I had a penalty. I wasn’t told that I had two, three, four strikes and then a penalty. I was just told straight away, you have a penalty.”
“So if I knew that I was in danger of getting a penalty, I probably would have taken a little bit more caution and maybe I could have avoided that. But that’s one of those unfortunate things. The pace was good. It was a step in the right direction. So hopefully we can continue that for the rest of the year.”
Approach to double and triple headers remains unchanged
Discussing his approach and preparation for back-to-back race weekends, Dunne said there is no change compared to a standalone event. Instead, the Rodin driver enjoys them, as they help him to build rhythm.
“It doesn’t really change a whole lot. I think I quite like having the double and triple headers and we kind of get into a bit of a rhythm and you kind of forget all of the outside stuff. You’re kind of just focused solely on racing because you don’t really get an opportunity to think or do anything else. So for me, I do enjoy it.”
He added: “Of course, it’s going to be nice to have a break at the end, but I think I definitely do enjoy the double and triple headers and just getting into the rhythm of things and constantly being in the racing zone, let’s say. I think in terms of preparation, it’s always very similar.”
“You try and do sim before each weekend. At the end of the day, it’s always similar. So it’s not necessarily like we’re approaching something new so that the preparation doesn’t change too much.”
