P3, P4, P3, P3 and P2: these are the qualifying positions for Alex Dunne in the 2026 F2 season before any grid penalties have been applied; he secured a front row start for Sunday’s F2 Feature Race at the Austrian GP on Friday.
As has been the case throughout this year, he made life hard for himself initially. P10 after the first runs, including an aborted lap because of a lock-up at turn 1 after taking too much of the outside kerb, a purple Sector 1 and two personal bests in S2 and S3 put him P2 on the second set of tyres. He ended up 0.129s behind polesitter Noel León.
It confirmed his practice pace where he was P3 behind Goethe and Tsolov.
Dunne on strong qualifying speed following P2 in 2026 F2 Austrian GP Qualifying
Asked about his mega qualifying form so far in 2026, the Irishman says getting into a good flow in free practice is important, adding that it is important to maximise the result, even if you have to accept a P5.
“There wouldn’t be much point in it if I told you why [I have been so consistent], because then they would figure it out,” he told Pit Debrief and other media outlets.
“I think it’s just trying to maximise every weekend. I think whether you’re in a position where you have the pace for pole or you have the pace for fifth, you need to make sure you put it where the car is capable of.
“In general the pace has been pretty strong. I think it’s just about maximising it, to be honest. Making sure if you make any changes for the final run of quali, you have to make sure they’re the right ones.
“I think a lot of it comes from FP in the beginning of the weekend as well, making sure you build into it properly and you find a good rhythm with yourself and with the car. I think the team and I have been doing that really, really well.
“We haven’t quite got pole yet, but we’ve always been very, very close. I think that’s the important thing.
“The last two weekends, I’ve been in the top three both times, and the two other guys in the top three have both been from the same team. I think that means that myself, I’m maximising what I have.”
Clean air was king
Alongside Monza, getting a tow with so many long straights sees drivers normally looking for a (distant) tow.
On the first run in qualifying, the Rodin Motorsport driver left a significant gap to Rafael Câmara, while on the second run he was a couple of seconds behind Nikola Tsolov. Although it helped in Sector 1, the dirty air became significant from turn 6 onwards.
Alex Dunne felt clean air was better in F2 qualifying at the 2026 Austrian GP.
“It wasn’t too bad [the traffic], to be honest.
“I felt like, to be honest, normally in previous years, getting a slipstream was quite important, but I did run one by myself and then I did my best lap behind Niko [Tsolov].
“To be honest, I think actually doing it by yourself was probably more beneficial. I think the balance of the car and the feeling I had in clean air, I felt a lot more comfortable than when I was following.
“So I think something obviously has changed this year because it’s quite rare that clean air is quicker here.
“I think Noel did a very good job of maximising that with a different strategy to everyone else [running in the gap], and in the end it paid off. That’s not something we necessarily thought about doing, but in the end it seemed to work.
“So whatever has changed this weekend, this year, it seemed like clean air was a lot more helpful than what it has been in the past.”
A high level of Qualifying consistency in 2026 F2 season for Alex Dunne continues at Austrian GP
Asked about the fast-paced nature of qualifying in F2, Alex Dunne says building into the 30-minute session is key.
Nonetheless, he has pushed his luck this year. A red flag in Melbourne qualifying only gave the drivers one lap on their second set of tyres at the end. Outside the top 10, the driver from Offaly vaulted up to 3rd.
“Yeah, I mean, from my side, I always try to build into the quali session.
“But then in saying that, I think with the exception of Miami, every quali session this year, I’ve been outside the top seven after run one. So, all the pressure has been on run two to deliver a lap and put it together. And I think it’s been like that every weekend of the year so far.
“In some cases, I think I’ve done quite a good job to always deliver the lap under pressure. But then at the same time, I put myself in a position where if there’s a red flag, I would have been in trouble.
“So yeah, I think I try to build up to it. But then a couple of times, there’s been mistakes at the beginning, which haven’t helped us.
“But always in the end, I think under pressure, that final lap, we’ve always managed to put it together, which is good.”
A vastly different Austrian GP Qualifying session compared to 2025
In 2025, the Irishman made his first appearance in Formula 1 as he took part in FP1 for McLaren via the mandated rookie running. P4 was an extraordinarily impressive showing. However, it came between F2 practice and qualifying.
When he got to qualifying back in the category below F1, all his references, such as braking points, had gone out the window thanks to the vast differences. He got P7 in the end.
Asked by Pit Debrief about the differences and not having that awkward situation, Alex Dunne reflected on how much easier and calmer 2026 F2 Austrian GP qualifying was.
“Yeah, I mean it was a lot easier.
“I think after run one in F2 quali last year, after doing FP1, I think I was like a second and a half off, and I felt like I’d never driven the car before.
“So, no, I think it’s very track dependent, but I think more so the high-speed tracks where you really get the feeling of downforce in an F1 car, jumping back in F2 is actually really difficult.
“I think definitely last year it was a lot harder than what I expected. We really tried our best to prepare for it and prepare for what we expected could happen, but even then it wasn’t enough.
“So yeah, definitely this year I’ve had a bit more time to relax and it’s been a bit more calm.”
A solid Sprint race is the target
With the top 10 reversed, the Alpine Junior and Rodin Motorsport driver will start in 9th for Saturday.
While Campos and Invicta have shown exceptionally strong race pace in Monaco ans Barcelona-Catalunya, Dunne has been in the mix.
As the top 8 score a point or points, the 20-year-old will need to gain a spot to achieve it, unless he finishes P9 or P10 and sets fastest lap.
“We’ll have to wait and see, I think. So far our race pace has been strong, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“I think there’s a lot of people around us who are also very quick as well, so if we can just bring a good couple of points home and make sure we have no penalties or anything going into Sunday, that’s what I’d be happy with.”
A regular F2 front-runner
Since his F2 debut at Melbourne in 2025, Alex Dunne has qualified inside the top 10 at every single round, bar Abu Dhabi last year.
In 2026, he has not been outside the top 4 in qualifying, before any penalties were applied.
He has also bagged a podium across all five rounds to date.
Asked about if he felt the speed is coming easily, Dunne revealed he is not have to push to the complete limit or overdrive to make sure he bags a strong result on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday at present.
The Irishman also praised Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov for the high level he is performing at in his rookie campaign. The Bulgarian was runner-up to Rafael Câmara in F3 last year.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say easy, but definitely I don’t really feel like I need to necessarily go out and set the world alight to be at the front.
“You know, I think every qualifying session I’ve done, I mean my laps have been relatively all right, but I don’t think any of them have been amazing.
“So even if I make a mistake here and there, I’m always in the top 5 pretty comfortably. I think a lot of that also comes from being in the second year.
“Nikola’s in his first year. So I think doing that consistently as a rookie is quite impressive.
“But no, I think it’s not easy necessarily, but I feel quite comfortable. I think we always manage to put together something relatively decent and we’re always in the top 5.
“So yeah, I feel pretty comfortable for quali.”
Calmness and looking at the big picture for Alex Dunne ahead of F2 Feature Race at Austrian GP
Contact with teammate Martinius Stenshorne in the Melbourne Feature, a mistake in the Miami Feature, and a collision with Joshua Dürksen in the Canada Sprint left the Irish driver on the back foot through the opening three rounds as he lost a lot of points. This followed a few very costly incidents in 2025.
Since then, he has made high percentage decisions, leading to P2 in the Canada, Monaco and Barcelona-Catalunya Feature Races.
He compared 2025 to this season and the small differences he has focused on, making sure to not go full gung-ho every time he hits the track. The rewards are starting to show as Alex Dunne tries to win the 2026 F2 championship.
“I think it does help a little bit [a second year]. Maybe I didn’t show it in the first two rounds of the championship this year.
“I’m feeling relaxed at the moment. I’m also enjoying myself and I think that also helps a lot as well.
“I just go into every weekend trying to maximise myself and the car. And where we end up is where we end up.
“Similar to what Noel [León] said himself, I think as a rookie last year, I was probably in the position where I was just trying to win every race and try to put it on pole every time. Where now I’m just going out and driving to what I feel is the limit and what I’m comfortable doing. And where we end up is where we end up.
Alex Dunne regularly close to the front in F2
“We’re always in a strong position. I think the pace is very, very good.
“I think trying that little bit extra for an extra half a tenth, a tenth, when the risk probably isn’t quite worth it, I think that’s probably the only thing that’s changed at the moment.
“In all the races recently, in all the quali sessions, it’s been quite relaxed. There’s been no crazy moments or anything.
“It’s all been a fairly straightforward session, straightforward race. And I think that’s kind of what you need for the championship.
“It’s maybe a little bit less enjoyable, sometimes it’s fun to have the more exciting moments, but I think to just be consistent and always bring home points is good.”
