Alex Dunne believes he and Rodin Motorsport can fight for F2 victories before the end of the 2026 season, despite a first half built more on consistency than race-winning results.
The Alpine Academy driver sits fourth in the Drivers’ Championship after a strong start to his second F2 campaign. Dunne has stood on the podium five times, added four further top-five finishes, and regularly shown impressive one-lap speed in Qualifying.
However, the one result still missing is a victory. Dunne has come close on several occasions, but he heads into the final part of the season still waiting to stand on the top step.
Dunne satisfied with consistent start to 2026 F2 Season
The Irish driver has been one of the most consistent qualifiers of the season so far. Before Budapest, he had not finished outside the top four in a Qualifying session all year, while his run of top-three Friday results had stretched back to Miami.
Reflecting on his campaign so far, Dunne said he felt satisfied with the level he and Rodin had shown, even if the race results had not always matched their strongest qualifying performances.
“In general, it’s been not too bad. I think we’ve been relatively consistent. I think qualifying has been a major strong point, being in the top three every weekend since Miami, which of course is really nice.”
“Being consistent in quali is really important. I think that’s definitely something I’m happy about. Then in terms of races, I think pace we need to improve a little bit, but we’re getting there.”
That race pace remains the main area Dunne wants to improve. While his qualifying performances have kept him near the front, converting that into victories has proved harder.
Second F2 season helping Dunne find confidence
Dunne is competing in his second F2 season, and he believes that experience has played a role in his stronger consistency this year.
The Irishman admitted there were areas he needed to improve as a rookie in 2025, particularly in qualifying. Combined with his natural speed over one lap, that learning has helped him become a more complete driver in his second campaign.
“I think it’s a bit of both. I learned a lot from quali last year, there was also a few areas as a rookie I needed to improve on, which I think I’ve done a good job focusing on this year.”
“The team also do a very good job with the car as well. The car is always in the window of where we want it to be, which, of course, makes it a lot easier as a driver.”
That continuity with Rodin has also helped. Dunne has stayed with the same team he made his F2 debut with in 2025, giving him a familiar environment as he pushes to turn podiums into wins.
Race pace remains the key focus
Although Dunne has not yet won this F2 season, he believes his approach has helped him collect strong points even when weekends have not unfolded perfectly.
Rather than chasing unrealistic results, Dunne said he has focused on maximising whatever is available on the day. That has allowed him to remain firmly in the championship fight despite missing out on victory so far.
“Whether we have the pace to win or the pace to finish fifth, whatever it is, I think we just always need to try and finish as high as we possibly can.”
“If the start of a race hasn’t gone to plan or if something happens in the middle, I think you just need to reset and maximise on what’s possible on the day.”
“That’s what we’ve tried to focus on to make sure we get the most points out of every weekend. Race pace is probably the main area of focus, let’s say. The last few rounds we’ve made a step forward and I think Spa was definitely a step in the right direction.”
“So I’m pretty confident that we’ll be challenging and back to normal pace for wins and things like that pretty soon. Definitely a couple of things that we found that seem to be working consistently. If what we’ve figured out is true, then I think we should be back to normal.”
Dunne not focused on championship position
Despite sitting fourth in the standings, Dunne is not placing too much emphasis on the championship table as F2 prepares to resume after the summer break.
His target remains simple: extract the maximum from every weekend and accept where that leaves him.
“I just want to try and maximise myself every weekend and get the most out of what we’ve got. And where we end up is where we end up. I’m not really too focused on that at the moment to be honest.”
Monza and Madrid offer fresh opportunities
When the F2 season resumes, Dunne will look to continue that approach at Monza before heading to the new Madrid circuit.
The Rodin driver expects both rounds to offer plenty of excitement, with Monza’s usual slipstreaming battles and Madrid’s new layout adding different challenges.
“Monza’s always an enjoyable one, a track I like and it’s always fairly exciting, qualifying and a bit of chaos as well, which is always good for the fans. And then Madrid, I’m really looking forward to it.”
“From what I’ve seen, the track looks pretty cool. It looks very high speed and it’s a street circuit as well. So I think the fact that it’s also going to be a new track for the whole group will make it very exciting.”
Dunne’s wait for a win has lasted longer than he would have liked, but his consistency has kept him in contention. With Rodin finding progress on race pace, the final phase of the season gives him the chance to turn strong Fridays and regular podiums into a first victory of the year.
