While Alpine-backed Alex Dunne’s future remains uncertain, the Irishman enjoyed an impressive weekend in Baku, closing the points gap to Rafael Câmara and Nikola Tsolov, who sit ahead of him in the championship standings.
After finishing fifth in the Drivers’ Standings during his rookie season, the 20 year-old returned to the championship with a clear goal: to challenge for the title. He has since established himself as one of the most consistent qualifiers on the grid and has secured nine podiums, including a Feature Race victory in Baku.
Ahead of the final two rounds of the season, the Irishman recently took part in a private IndyCar test with Dale Coyne Racing at Barber Motorsports Park. While speculation suggests he could return for a third F2 season, Dunne has yet to confirm his plans for 2027.
Following Feature Race 2 in Baku, Dunne spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets during the post-Feature 2 press conference, opening up about how he is navigating his uncertain future with F1 seats seemingly secured for the foreseeable future.
“It’s frustrating but not much I can do” — Dunne on not being in contention for an F1 seat
Dunne joined the Alpine Driver Academy ahead of the 2026 F2 season, having previously been part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme since May 2024. The 20 year-old also impressed during his FP1 appearance with McLaren in Austria last year, drawing significant attention to his potential.
However, with Alpine confirming both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto for 2027, the Irishman’s hopes of securing a place on next year’s F1 grid have faded. With Câmara confirmed to join Ollie Bearman at Haas in 2027, Dunne opened up about how he felt watching his fellow competitors emerge as contenders for F1 seats.
“I think the difficult thing is, I think to be an F1 driver to have an F1 seat nine times out of ten the contracts and that sort of things are usually well wrapped up at this point of the year, where we are quite late into the season.”, he said.
“So I would say nine times out of ten most drivers who are going to be F1 drivers next year, who are making the step, contract negotiations and being signed and things like that has kind of already been done.”
“So I think for me not necessarily being in contention for a seat at the moment in comparison to let’s say, Niko [Tsolov] and Rafael [Câmara], I would say, to be honest, makes perfect sense because up until the last two weekends, they’ve been quite far in front of me in the championship. Now we’ve had a bit of a turn in form, and it’s been really strong but unfortunately it’s a little bit too late.”
“I think even if I win the championship, I think it kind of makes sense that they would have more of a chance than I do purely because the gap in the championship was so big in the middle of the year, and that’s kind of, I think, from a couple of weeks before Monza to Monza time.”
“At least in my experience, it’s kind of when contracts and things are sorted out, so I think it kind of makes sense that it would go their way and not mine. Of course it’s frustrating, but not much I can do.”, Dunne admitted.
Refuses to give up on his F1 dreams
IndyCar is not the only avenue Dunne has explored, with the Irishman also gaining experience in Formula E in the past and attracting speculation about a potential future in the championship. Although reaching F1 remains his ultimate goal, the 20-year-old acknowledged that securing a seat on the 2027 grid would require significant financial backing and a major stroke of luck.
“I mean, I try not to think about it too much, to be honest. My dad is the one who manages me, and he’s the one who kind of goes through a lot of these things, and anytime there’s a possibility of going elsewhere, I always tell him I want to do F1. So you know, granted at this point of the year, me being in F1 next year, we probably need a massive bank account and a big miracle for that to happen.”
He added: “I think it’s probably unlikely, but every time it’s mentioned, at least, I think if that decision is going to be made to go elsewhere, someone else will probably have to do it for me because I think with how much I’ve let’s say, achieved to date, and I think as a driver and what I believe I’m capable of, and also all the work I’ve put into it, I think for me myself to say, ‘Let’s do something other than F1,’ I think for me it would be too hard to say that.”
“So you know my plan is to not give up on the dream, and we’ll try and keep it alive for as long as we can, but I think realistically it’s probably going to be difficult.”
