Alex Dunne qualified second for the 2026 F2 Spanish GP at the Madring. The Irishman crossed the line to claim himself yet another front-row start alongside pole sitter Dino Beganovic after a chaotic session that produced three red flags. Dunne was among the first drivers to set a representative time after the opening red flag and stayed near the front throughout. The Rodin Motorsport driver spoke in the post-qualifying press conference attended by Pit Debrief.
Pitlane positioning for Rodin was key to Qualifying execution
Dunne pointed to Rodin’s position at the front of the pit lane as a key advantage. The red flags repeatedly interrupted the session, making early track position crucial. Being first out each time the pit lane reopened gave him a clear edge.
“Yeah, I mean, I think it was pretty good. Obviously, I think it was a bit of a messy session with the fact that we had so many red flags but I think a good thing for us is that we were at the front of the pit lane. So, you know, we were first out every time or one of the first out which I think definitely in a weekend and in a qualifying session like this that does become quite useful.”
“So I think, of course, I’ve qualified second and third so many times that being on pole would have been nice but I think to be honest with how difficult of a session it was, I think just to put down a clean lap and be in the top three, I’m pretty happy.”
Dunne on getting the tyres into the window at the Madring
With the session so frequently interrupted, the usual rhythm of building tyre temperature was disrupted. Dunne explained that the red flags actually made tyre preparation easier. His tyres had already gone through a heat cycle before he needed to push.
“No, I think today it was pretty easy because of the red flags. I think we never actually went out on a brand new set and got to build them up and start pushing. We were always kind of on fresh or used so the tyre had already been through a heat cycle and was kind of already there and ready when you started to push.”
“I think I didn’t even do a warm lap before my final lap and the tyre was already ready. So yeah, I imagine if we went out after that final red flag, if we all had to go out on new tyres, we would have struggled a lot more but I think given the fact that we did so many laps in wasn’t too bad.”
Initial thoughts on the Madring after FP and Qualifying
The Madring made its debut this weekend. Drivers had only a limited practice session and no prior race experience at the circuit. Dunne admitted it was physically demanding and predicted Sunday’s Feature Race would test the drivers significantly.
“It’s pretty cool. I think definitely I had a few scary moments at the beginning of FP but it was a lot more calm and relaxed in qualifying but I think it’s definitely more on the physical side. I think of all the tracks I’ve driven so far in F2. This one’s probably going to be the hardest in terms of physically, how physically demanding it’s going to be and of course the feature race is a long one as well so I think I’ll need to make sure that I’m well prepped for that”
How the Madring compared to simulator preparation
Dunne said the track model from his simulator preparation was broadly accurate. The grip levels came in slightly lower than expected, and the lap times were slower than he had anticipated.
“Yeah, I think the track model we had on the sim was good. I think from what I remember all the stuff we tested before we came here was relatively similar to what we experienced today, I would say the grip was probably a bit lower than what I expected and I probably expected the lap times to be a bit quicker as well.”
“I think we’re definitely on the slower side of what I expected based off from our sim prep. But no, I think in general apart from that it was all quite similar and I think the track from what I could see was in good condition and very very enjoyable to drive. It’s a lot of fun.”
“So yeah, I think definitely the organizers did a good job to get it ready on time. And Dino, we’ll come to you next.”
Building confidence around the new circuit
Dunne explained how drivers used Formula 3 onboards as a reference point before arriving. Some corners that barely register in an F3 car demand real commitment in F2. The gap in arrival speed makes the difference significant.
Echoing similar sentiments to Beganovic, he said: “Yeah, I think very similar to what Dino said. I think obviously some of us probably used F3 as a reference before we came here. You know, looking at onboards and stuff to try and see what we can learn and I think corners that aren’t really corners for them become corners for us because we’re arriving at a much quicker speed.”
Dunne pointed to Turn 14 as a corner that took him the entire 2026 F2 Spanish GP Qualifying session to commit to fully, one that he only managed to take flat on his final push lap.
“So I think it’s just about building up to it and you know finding the confidence. I think turn 14, I think it is, is a corner that from the sim, I thought it was going to be easy flat, and I only just about did it flat on my best lap so and that was on the final push of quality. It took me that long to kind of build up and get the confidence to do it.”
“So yeah I think overall it was always going to be difficult. I think the red flags kind of reset and you kind of have to go again and I think at a lot of other tracks we’ve all driven it so many times that we’re all pushing at 100% and sometimes over where I think today I probably in most corners I was probably always a little bit under the limit just because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“So yeah, you know I think I imagine that if we all went out and did another qualifying session again all of us would probably go quite a bit quicker because we would just build more and more confidence. So yeah I think it was a tricky one but I’m glad we made the most of it.”
Dunne on his race win drought in the 2026 F2 Spanish GP season
Despite his strong qualifying record, Dunne has not yet converted pace into a race victory in 2026. He was candid about the difficulty of finding answers. The team are working hard but have not yet found the solution.
“I think I’ve been asked that question in every press conference of the year. No I mean, it’s just one of those things I think unfortunately it just hasn’t really materialized for us in the races. I think the team and myself are working as hard as we can to kind of try and turn it around let’s say and and find more pace but it’s just proving to be difficult at the moment.”
Rodin might be forced to rethink setup direction for 2026 F2 season
Dunne admitted the approach that worked well for Rodin in 2025 has not carried over into this season. The team have had to rethink their setup direction at several rounds.
He continued: “I think unfortunately what we what we had last year and what worked so well for us last year just isn’t working this year and I think we’ve gone into a couple of weekends and kind of had to flip the setup of the car on its head to try and figure some things out and you know of course as a driver I can probably get a little bit more out of it in different situations as well.”
Despite the difficulties, Dunne was optimistic heading into the 2026 F2 Spanish GP’s races after qualifying second.
“But, I think unfortunately it’s just just one of those things you know I think myself and the team are you know constantly trying to work and figure out new things to try and get more out of it and I think coming into this weekend we had a big conversation about what can we do to make it better, but, you know it’s just one of those things.
“I think, unfortunately, you know we can’t go back in time and change what has happened, so we’ll just focus on what’s in front of us and see if we can get the most out of it, but we’re in a good place to challenge for something on Sunday.”
Dunne on where the Madring ranks and what the races could look like
In response to a question asked by Pit Debrief, Dunne compared the Madring to Jeddah in the way it combines high speed with street circuit walls. However, he was less optimistic about the racing prospects. Track position, he suggested, would be hard to change once the lights go out.
“Yeah, I think definitely for qualifying it’s great. I think the feeling of, like I said, it kind of gives you a similar vibe to Jeddah. And I think Jeddah and here are two places where you don’t normally get to experience high speed and a street circuit combined in one.”
Dunne identified Turn 12 as the standout corner of the circuit. The banking and the walls make it one of the most committed corners he has faced this season.
“And I think this track has that sorted out pretty well. I think especially turn 12 it’s a very high commitment corner, a lot of banking, but you know that if you make a mistake, you’re going to be in the wall as well. So I think those are the type of tracks that I really enjoy, and I think they suit me as a driver.”
“Of course I think racing is probably not going to be as good as what we would like. I imagine that where you start it’s going to be quite difficult to move forward unless you have a significant pace advantage on the cars around you. But definitely for over one lap it’s probably one of the most enjoyable ones of the year.”
Track temperature changes from FP to Qualifying
Dunne noted the lap times dropped by around one and a half seconds from Free Practice to the Qualifying session. He attributed most of that improvement to driver learning rather than track evolution.
“Sorry, it’s hard to say. I mean, we only went two and a half seconds quicker, I think from FP to quali and we only did like three laps in FP. So I think you’d probably expect a good second, second and a half just in driverimprovement, let alone the rest of it.”
The high track temperatures in qualifying made tyre life a challenge in the final sector. Dunne felt this limited how much grip the surface itself had gained.
“So I think there wasn’t a whole lot of track evolution. I think if anything, with how hot the track temp was, I was struggling with tires towards the end of the lap and in sector three and it became quite tricky. So yeah the grip already in FP wasn’t too low but it’s always hard to compare when you have you know an added 25 degrees of track temp when you go into qualifying.”
“So yeah I think in general what we learned from FP it wasn’t too different in qualifying. There wasn’t a huge amount of track evolution.”
Lack of data heading into both races
With limited running across Free Practice and qualifying, the field was left short on data for the races. Dunne noted that qualifying temperatures were around 20 to 25 degrees higher than Sunday’s Feature Race conditions. What teams learned on Friday may not translate directly to what they face on race day.
“Yeah I think they both summed it up pretty well, we’ll have to wait and see. Obviously both I think we had a lack of running in FP, and I think FP would have been a lot more representative for the Feature Race because it’s on Sunday it’s going to be a lot colder. So I think what you learn from qualifying with it being like I said, an extra 20-25 degrees of track temp isn’t going to be super representative for the Feature Race on Sunday because it’s going to be so much colder.”
“So we’ll have to wait and see. I think tomorrow is a good opportunity to learn, but that’s also going to be hotter than what we have on Sunday. So yeah, it’s going to be a tricky one but that makes it exciting.”
