Alex Dunne praised Rodin Motorsport’s progress and speed after securing a standout podium finish during the Feature Race at the 2026 F2 Madrid round.
The Irishman enjoyed strong pace on the new Madring circuit, finishing P5 in Free Practice before qualifying second. After taking P7 in Saturday’s Sprint Race, Dunne carried that pace into the Feature Race, securing P2 and the fastest lap to return to the podium for the first time since Barcelona.
As a result, the 2026 F2 Madrid round marks Dunne’s best weekend of his 2026 campaign so far, as he secured 21 points. The points have helped him close the gap to championship leader Nikola Tsolov, with the Rodin driver sitting P4 in the standings with 139 points, now just 38 behind Tsolov.
Dunne: “I’m not normally this happy to finish second”
Reflecting on his Round 11 weekend, Dunne highlighted Rodin Motorsport’s competitiveness around the Madrid track. While race winner Dino Beganovic finished 7.3 seconds clear of the Irish driver, Dunne and Beganovic were the two fastest drivers on the grid, with their fastest laps nearly two seconds quicker than the rest of the field.
“I feel good, I’m very happy. I’m not normally this happy to finish second, so I’ll take it while it lasts. I think it was a good weekend. Qualifying was strong, race pace was very strong. I think ultimately Dino [Beganovic] did a very good job this weekend, his pace was very strong,” he shared.
“I think he and I were probably quite a bit quicker than the rest of the grid, so I think in general the pace and that sort of thing was really strong.”
“I’m very pleased, I think the team and I made a good step. One that I really hope we can continue to carry forward for the rest of the year. Overall, I think it was a very good weekend.”
Risk and reward
Despite the speed, the Feature Race remained strategically difficult, with an early Safety Car forcing teams to carefully plan when to make their mandatory pit stops. Having started on soft tyres, Dunne initially wanted to pit early but ultimately stayed out as the race unfolded. The decision paid off when a second Safety Car allowed him to pit without losing track position.
“It was really difficult,” he said, explaining the thinking behind the strategy call. “Ultimately, if there’s a Safety Car on Lap 6, you can come in for a free pit stop, but then you also have the possibility of getting stuck behind someone who’s slower than you. I think you need to have a massive pace advantage to be able to get past them again.”
“Realistically, we made the right decision. I managed the Soft tyre as well, I was able to extend quite long and we got the chance to wait for that second Safety Car.”
“If you look at Rafa [Cǎmara] and Martinius [Stenshorne], who were behind me, they had to pit a little bit early to cover off someone who had pitted before them. In the end, that kind of destroyed their race. I was considering pitting not too long after they did, but I’m very glad I didn’t.”
Maximising opportunities in Baku
Attention now turns to Baku, where Dunne will look to build on his Madrid momentum and continue closing down the gap to the championship leader. Notably, more points will be on offer, with Formula 2 announcing a supersized 2026 F2 Baku round with an additional Qualifying and a second Feature Race.
Asked about his goals and approach for the upcoming round, Dunne shared: “I’m pushing hard to try and get at least in the top three. I think it’s going to be difficult, but we’ve been improving at the moment. For sure, as a driver, I’m going to leave nothing on the table, leave it all out there. I think we should end up in a good place.”
