Alex Dunne continued his strong run of results with a third straight podium in a 2026 F2 Feature Race, this time at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
At the F2 Canadian, Monaco and Barcelona rounds, he has now finished in P2 on a Sunday. Having come 3rd on the road, a post-race penalty for Nikola Tsolov moved him up a spot.
Starting P2 on the grid thanks to a penalty for Joshua Dürksen, the 20-year-old Irishman got a lovely launch and took the lead from Rafael Câmara.
However, it was quickly apparent the Brazilian had better pace. Dunne boxed at the end of lap 13, with the Brazilian extending his soft stint by a further nine laps.
On lap 30, the Invicta driver reclaimed the lead and drove off into the distance. Using the hard-soft strategy, Nikola Tsolov also came flying through with three laps left. Ultimately, however, he did not keep the position post-race.
Alex Dunne never felt comfortable or confident about beating Rafael Câmara in 2026 F2 Barcelona-Catalunya GP Feature Race
With Rafael Câmara taking pole despite doing just a single run in qualifying, the rest looked to be battling for P2 on Sunday. It turned out to be the case.
While the Rodin Motorsport driver led the first 13 laps and then a few more once everyone had boxed, Câmara’s superior pace on both tyres was impossible to match. Once the Brazilian took the lead on lap 30, he went off into the distance.
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets post-race, the driver from County Offaly quickly realised the pace was not there to win. Once the Safety Car pulled in, the Invicta man was easily staying in the DRS.
“Not really [ever feeling comfortable].
“No, I mean I knew going into the race that beating Rafa was going to be really hard. I think my only opportunity really was to have a good start, get past him on lap one and then just try and hang on for dear life, more or less.
“I knew already at the end of my option stint, I had to pit quite early. If I did one more lap he probably would have overtaken me with the DRS into turn one. So I kind of just wanted to get in, change tyres and then try and focus on doing a good stint on the hards.
“I felt we were going to end up being second quite comfortably, until quite late in the race I didn’t realise how close it was with Niko [on the road].
“Overall, I think this weekend we haven’t really had the extra pace that we tend to have sometimes, so I think to come away with a podium is not too bad.”
Early stop leads to lots of traffic
Struggling with tyre degradation on the softs, the Irish driver had to pit relatively early. He would then catch a bunch of drivers on old hards, losing race time in the process. These included Joshua Dürksen, Kush Maini and a few more.
Asked about the strategy call, Dunne said it was necessary because of his pace.
“Yeah, I mean, unfortunately we had to pit quite early because we were just too slow, to be honest.
“I was kind of in a difficult position where I had to manage the tyres, but then I also had to push on maybe more than I would like to keep Rafa behind me at the same time.
“So I was kind of in a position where I was stuck and needed to manage both ends, let’s say.
“And then yeah, coming out in the traffic was very, very difficult. Also, I think I lost a lot of time behind Joshua as well, who I imagined was informed that I was racing Rafa and he needed to back me up a little bit, which is fair enough.
“So yeah, I think it was difficult coming through the traffic and then I lost a little bit of time with the battle at the end.
“I think in the end it’s difficult, but that’s just how it is.”
Alex Dunne pushing for the hard-soft strategy in 2026 F2 Barcelona-Catalunya GP Feature Race
In 2025, the former British F4 champion was P8 on the grid. That Sunday, Rodin Motorsport and the man himself decided to do the alternate strategy. It worked well as he finished P5. Without the Safety Car in the closing stages, even more was on the table.
Off the front row this year, a conservative approach was understandably taken. While Dunne pushed his team hard to do the same again, 18 points by the end of Sunday was ultimately a good day out.
“Ultimately, no [on whether it was the right strategy].
“You know, I had a very long conversation with the whole team and my engineer about what tyres we should start on.
“Last year, we started on the hards and in the end, it worked out pretty well. And I think this year, I was trying to push them on to start on the hards.”
Balancing act
“But I think at the same time, we were trying to weigh up the risk versus reward, similar to what Nikola was talking about. But I guess the way we weighed it up in the end was incorrect.
“So I think ultimately when you look at the race as a whole, if you want to just have a quick race time and avoid all the outside factors, starting on the hards is definitely faster. But if you get a Safety Car halfway through that stint and everyone else gets a free pit stop, then you’re very unlucky.
“So I think ultimately in the end it worked out. But looking back, maybe if we started on the hards, we might have got unlucky and there was a Safety Car.
“So I think we chose the safer option. And in the end, we still came away with a podium. So I don’t think we can be too disappointed.”
Dunne building a campaign based on consistency following F2 Barcelona-Catalunya round
Following a year of ups and downs in 2025 regarding results, Alex Dunne is starting to put consistency into his performances, combining speed and making more long game decisions behind the wheel.
After the 2026 F2 Barcelona round, he is only 19 points off championship leader and fellow Alpine junior Gabriele Minì.
“I think we’re starting to build a bit more momentum. We’ve had three podiums in a row now in the Feature Races, which is nice. So I think we’re building a little bit of consistency and we’re starting to bring home points all the time, which is nice.
“I think I had a little bit of a fight with, I think it was Joshua and Gabriele when we had a bit of traffic, so the race got a bit more exciting at that point, but then for the rest of it, it was pretty chilled and pretty calm and I tried my best to just look after the tyres and manage the pace.
“So yeah, coming into this weekend I think Barcelona is probably one of our weaker tracks usually during the year, so to still come away with what we have, I’m not too disappointed.”
Can Dunne go for the championship in 2026?
Looking extremely fast in the opening three rounds of 2026, Rodin Motorsport were consistent front runners with Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne. The Norwegian went on to win in Montréal, as his Irish teammate was 2nd.
However, over the last two weekends, Invicta (Rafael Câmara) and Campos Racing (Nikola Tsolov) have been extremely quick and the drivers to beat. Laurens van Hoepen has had a rough couple of events but is also looking very fast since Melbourne. Current title leader Gabriele Minì has been unbelievably consistent.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli have won the last two F2 championships, both driving for Invicta. They are very much the benchmark team in the series, although Campos and Rodin have been very strong as well in recent seasons.
Asked if Rodin Motorsport needs to find more pace to challenge for the championship or if the title is still possible because it was an oultier weekend at the 2026 F2 Barcelona-Catalunya round, Alex Dunne gave a reflective and honest assessment.
“Tricky one.
“I think it’s not really a coincidence that Invicta have won the Drivers’ Championship the last two years in a row. So whatever they’re doing, they’re obviously doing it pretty well.
“I think in general, the weekends where we have that extra little bit of pace, we just need to make sure we use the most of it. In the past when we have really strong pace, we’re good at using that, but using the pace when you don’t quite have it, I think like this weekend, for example, that’s where we probably lacked a little bit last year. And at the moment I think we’re developing that quite well.”
Câmara and Tsolov pace highlighted
“So of course it’s going to be difficult. They’re always going to be there and their pace, both Rafa and Nikola, is very, very strong, so I don’t expect that to disappear anytime soon.
“And Invicta know what they’re doing with winning the last two championships as well.
“So I think we’re just going to have to give it our best and try and develop as much as I can. I’ll try and keep on improving as a driver. And I’m sure the team and I will work together to get the most out of the car as well.
“If we can do that, then that’s about as much as we can do.”
