Following a second 1-2 finish in the 2025 F2 season at the Imola GP, Alex Dunne and Luke Browning reminisced about 2022 as the Brit was a bit of mentor for his Irish rival that year. They also sit 1-2 in the standings heading into Monaco.
Three years ago Luke Browning won the GB3 championship, with Alex Dunne taking glory in the British F4 championship. Both drove for Hitech after joining them ahead of their respective 2022 campaigns.
When they were not racing on the same weekend at different tracks, Browning was in attendance for the British F4 round at Brands Hatch as he helped the now 19-year-old out.
Alex Dunne and Luke Browning on their memories of 2022 and the journey to F2
Pit Debrief asked Dunne and Browning about their separate roads to Formula 2 and the memories of three years ago racing in the UK and the mentoring that went on.
The Irish driver went first and admitted it was a special thing for the two of them to be finishing in 1st and 2nd after their racing different journeys to get to F3, and now F2. While Browning has been a mainstay at Hitech, Dunne drove for MP Motorsport in F3 last year, and he is with Rodin Motorsport in F2 this campaign.
“Of course, it’s very, very cool for us to both be here. I mean, I think, of course, in different senses, but I think we’ve both come from relatively similar places.
“I think our career paths have been very different, but I think in terms of where we come from, it’s somewhat similar.
“And I think for us both to be here at the top of an F2 feature race, a part of two different Formula 1 junior teams, is very, very special.
“And I think it’s very cool and a big thing for both of us to be here.
“Of course, during my F4 days, I was a part of the Hitech family as well once upon a time. And I think during the beginning of F4, Luke was there helping me out a little bit when I started, and we joined Hitech at a very similar time as well. So I think it’s very cool to see us both here.
“And I think in those both years when we both joined Hitech, I’m pretty sure we both won our separate championships, myself in F4 and Luke in GB3.
“So no, I think it’s cool for us to both be here, and I think we both equally deserve to be here too.”
Luke Browning on celebrating a win for Alex Dunne in British F4 and the hard road to get to F2
Browning then gave his side of the story, fondly remembering Dunne winning the first race at Brands Hatch in British F4 that weekend in 2022. The now 22-year-old revealed he celebrated it.
Both men have had to work extremely hard to make it up the single-seater ladder. While they are now part of the Williams and McLaren junior programmes respectively, it has taken an awful lot of sacrifices from both their families to make it this far as the costs in Motorsport are extremely high, even as low as F4.
He also spoke about the growth both of them have made since then and the evolution they have been on as drivers.
“Yeah, it’s funny you bring that up because I’ve got a very fond memory of Alex’s first race at Brands Hatch in Formula 4. He won the first race, and I remember watching him drive down, and I was going like this [does a celebration and says ‘yeah’]. I was well happy.
“And yeah, it means a lot, right? Because I think naturally when you come from a similar background, both from humble beginnings, and you manage to get to this stage, it’s so incredibly difficult.
“Families sell houses, the funding it takes to get here, and the faith and belief from the family that it takes, the sacrifices. It’s no family holidays for 15 years.
“So yeah, naturally, when you see someone that’s like that, you support them to a certain extent.
“But yeah, it’s growth from both sides, to be honest. I think me and Alex were probably both quite aggressive at one point in our career, both learning, and it’s rewarding.
“But the standard on this grid is so high this year throughout, up and down the grid. We’ve got so many champions of Formula 3, Formula Regional at the end, not to forget, and multiple Formula 4 winners.
“So yeah, it’s a tough year this year, but it makes it all the more fun when we’re on top of the podium.”
