Alex Dunne kept himself firmly in title contention with a solid P2 finish in the F2 Sprint at the Hungarian GP. The Irishman survived a post-race investigation.
Starting 2nd on the reverse grid following a relatively disappointing qualifying session by his standards in 2025, the driver from Offaly made one of the moves of the campaign to reclaim P2. Arvid Lindblad had got him at the start, before that mega pass in turn 1 on lap 19.
A mistake from Pepe Martí on the final lap at turn 5 very nearly opened the door for a victory. However, the Spanish driver fended him off with an aggressive defensive move in turn 13.
Alex Dunne on the final lap battle in the F2 Sprint at the Hungarian GP
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets after the race, the 19-year-old talked about the scrap. He also admitted he expected a bigger fight between Martí and his teammate Arvid Lindblad.
“Yeah, I think Pepe made a bit of a mistake into T5. I got my hopes up a little bit hoping that there was an opportunity.
“But no, I think he defended it pretty well. I tried to go around the outside of 13 and there wasn’t quite enough room to make it happen.
“I think that’s just how it goes. That’s racing. But yeah, it was a fun battle.
“I think I managed my tyres through the race. I thought it was maybe going to be a bit more interesting between Arvid and Pepe. But in the end I think Pepe managed his pace well and I tried to do the same from third.”
The incredible overtake on Lindblad
With 10 laps to go, Alex Dunne made his move for 2nd. Although he looked too far back approaching turn 1, the Rodin Motorsport driver used his confidence under braking to make a spectacular pass on Arvid Lindblad.
When asked about how on the limit it was, he said:
“Not very [on the edge] to be honest. I felt like that’s something I’ve always been good at through the year, going in late on the brakes and making those types of moves.
“I felt like the pace was strong but I think Arvid was kind of pushing quite hard and being stuck in the DRS of Pepe but not quite enough to be able to overtake.
“To be honest, I got bored of just sitting there saving tyres the whole race. I pushed to two laps to try and get close and I saw an opportunity so I just went for it.”
The final lap fight with Pepe Martí
Pushed again on that wheel-to-wheel fight with the Spanish Campos driver on lap 28 for the win, Dunne explained how Martí dictated proceedings as he was the lead car heading into turn 13.
“I got the switchback out of [turn] 12, I think and then I tried to go around the outside of [turn] 13. I saw Pepe was drifting wider and wider to use his line and naturally as a driver you just kind of have to follow that to avoid contact.
“I mean, I don’t think we did anything special, to be honest. I think it was just pretty normal racing.”
Alex Dunne on boredom getting the better of him and making a pass in the F2 Hungarian GP Sprint
The Hungaroring is known to be a tyre saving, hard to pass race, whether it’s F1, F2 or F3. Plenty was going on in the Formula 2 earlier Saturday afternoon.
Such was the level of management, Alex Dunne admitted he was bored of it in response to a question from Pit Debrief about the difficulties of passing at this venue.
“I just got bored, to be honest. I had enough of sitting there and saving tyres. I wanted to have a little bit of fun, so I pushed a bit more and when the opportunity was there, I took it.
“I was purposely saving because I knew that if tyres were good at the end of the race, then there was going to be more opportunity.
“But to be honest, when I saw Arvid starting to struggle a little bit, I just started pushing more and more.”
Trying to keep life in the tyres
Races in F2 and F3 around circuits like these can come down to late showdowns with some drivers doing a better job of managing tyres than others. Most did an excellent job in Saturday’s Sprint, aside from Arvid Lindblad.
It’s an area Alex Dunne feels he is very strong in, as he explained the chess games taking place at the front today.
“Yeah, I think in this sense, I think the race today was kind of like a game of cat and mouse.
“I pushed a little bit at the beginning to be close and then when I realised nothing was happening and I could feel that my tyres were hurting from it, I then just made a massive gap and chilled for a while.
“And then when I started to fight, I pushed again and then when I knew nothing was happening, I then backed off again.
“So I think it’s kind of just a feeling of what the car is doing, what the balance is telling you and then also the feeling you have with the tyres.
“I think similar to what Pepe said, I think for me also, I always feel relatively strong when the deg is high and when you’re in these situations where you need to manage it, I feel like that’s something I’ve always been pretty good at because I have quite a strong feeling with those kind of things.
“So yeah, very similar to what Pepe said.”
Dunne expands on why he is so strong at tyre management
“To be honest, I think it’s just something that’s always relatively suited me.
“I think also with the way our car is, we always seem to be naturally a little bit stronger when it’s hot as well. I wouldn’t say we do anything differently to be honest.
“It’s just a feeling that I’m relatively comfortable with and I always seem to adapt to it well when it’s hot.”
Alex Dunne on his prospects in the F2 Feature race at the Hungarian GP following Sprint podium
Going off from P9 tomorrow, Dunne faces a tricky Sunday race. Intriguingly, rain is a strong possibility. It comes after wet Feature races at both Silverstone and Spa. The Irishman was P2 and P1 on the road in those.
Heading into it, he sits P4 in the standings, 7 points off championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli. The Italian starts on the front row.
The McLaren junior expects a tough day trying to progress.
“It’s very hard to say to be honest. I think tomorrow there’s potential for a third weekend in a row for it to be wet so I’m not sure how that’s going to shake things up.
“I think in the dry, our pace obviously is strong in terms of race pace. In qualifying we missed a little bit. It was very difficult to put it together.
“I’d say our pace was really strong today. If it’s dry, I think we’ll be able to move forward but I think there’s a lot of people around us as well who are also fast.
“So I think it will be quite difficult to be honest.”
