Taking on his second Formula 2 (F2) campaign in 2026, Alex Dunne has opened up about his performance, challenges, motivation, and future goals.
Despite not securing a race win so far this season, the Rodin Motorsport driver has achieved a podium in each of the opening five rounds, and is yet to qualify outside the top four. Heading into Round 6 in Spielberg, Dunne currently sits fourth in the Drivers’ Standings with 67 points, just 19 points behind leader Gabriele Minì.
Reflecting on the start of his 2026 F2 season in an interview with Formula 2, Dunne said: “The pace has been very good. If you look at it as a team, I think over the first few rounds, Martinius [Stenshorne] and I were the only two drivers to qualify in the top four.”
“I probably should have been on pole in Miami without the mistake at the last corner. So overall, I think it’s just been about putting it together.”
Recovering from setbacks
Despite his strong pace, Dunne has also already endured several difficult moments this season that have ended in DNFs. After securing a podium in the Melbourne Sprint Race, Dunne and his teammate Martinius Stenshorne collided while fighting for the lead in the Feature Race, leaving the Rodin team with a double retirement.
His Feature Race misfortune continued in Miami as the Irishman found the wall after going off-line at the penultimate corner. In Montreal, on the other hand, Dunne collided with Joshua Dürksen in the Sprint Race before bouncing back on Sunday to finish P2.
“These incidents are just little things that have had a big effect,” he shared. “I think there’s probably more focus on those things because they happened back-to-back.”
“If they happen individually in very different parts of the year, it wouldn’t look as bad as it is. The fact that it’s the first few rounds and they happened in the first two Feature Races, it just makes it a bit more obvious.”
“I know what I’m capable of and I know that the pace is more than there. But I also know that there are some things I need to work on.”
Dunne on dealing with mistakes and criticism
When asked about how he has recovered from these setbacks, Dunne explained that he focuses on moving forward rather than dwelling on past mistakes.
“I just get back in the car and keep driving,” he said. “No matter what happens on track, you can never let it affect you. You should never let anything impact how well of a job you do when you’re pressing the pedals and turning the steering wheel. So, you just need to forget about it and move on.”
“What’s happened has happened, and if I dwell on it too long then it’s just going to make things worse. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and change them, so I’m not worried moving forward.”
However, while Dunne has learned to move on from mistakes, social media communities often bring them back into the spotlight. As a result, dealing with online criticism and negativity has become an unavoidable part of being a driver.
Dunne shared that while he has also learned to ignore criticism, he believes that much of the online abuse is unfair and way too heavy.
“I’m very much my father’s son. He’s very much the type of person who doesn’t really care about what people say, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed that type of personality,” he shared.
“I don’t like to talk about it and I don’t like to make myself a victim, but realistically, I don’t think it’s normal for a kid at 20 to be receiving death threats just because of mistakes you make when you’re racing. A young driver goes out trying their best, trying to learn, trying to achieve their goals and they make one slight mistake and they have half the world slating them for it. I don’t think that’s right.”
Home support from Ireland
Beyond the negativity, Dunne is often reminded of the positive side of being a motorsport driver. After Round 2 in Miami, the Rodin driver returned to his home karting track in Ireland, Mondello Park, where he was greeted by a huge number of his fans.
Reflecting on the significant Irish support that he receives, Dunne said: “It’s very, very cool to see the amount of people that were there with T-shirts that had my name on it, and that were there see me. I couldn’t walk outside for five minutes without being swarmed by a group of people.”
“I’m still at the stage where all of that seems very cool and I hope it stays like that. The support from the fans at home and the Irish people is really nice.”
“After the first two rounds being so difficult, to see how supportive everyone was, how much they’re behind me and how much they want me to do well, it was almost like a wake-up call to brush off the first two rounds and get on with it.”
He added: “To see the amount of people that really want me to make it to Formula 1, I would almost feel like not only would I let down myself, but the Irish people that really, really want it to happen.”
Alpine and future ambitions
After parting ways with McLaren’s Driver Development Programme, Dunne became a member of the Alpine Academy at the start of the 2026 F2 season. However, he is not the only Alpine Academy driver on the grid, with Minì and Kush Maini also running the iconic pink livery.
When asked whether this added Alpine competition changes his approach, Dunne noted: “It doesn’t really change much for me in the way you approach a weekend. We have the same livery, but they are two other drivers on the grid like everyone else. So, it doesn’t change much.”
Looking ahead to the remaining nine rounds, Dunne remains confident that he can challenge for wins and fight for the 2026 F2 title.
“I know what I’m capable of. I don’t really like to talk about how good I think I am because I think I’m not here to talk, I’m here to go out and do it.”
“But I know what I’m capable of and I know I’m capable of putting it on pole and winning races. I just need to go out and do what I know I can, I showed it last year, but now it’s just about putting it all together and making sure it happens,” he concluded.
