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Ireland’s Alex Dunne will return to drive for McLaren in first practice at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Friday.
Dunne, 19, starred in his debut practice outing earlier this year in Austria when he was fourth in the session and within one tenth of Oscar Piastri in equal machinery.
The teenager was the first Irish driver to compete in an F1 weekend in 22 years and will also continue his Formula 2 campaign in Monza, where he is fifth in the standings.
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Lando Norris was in full praise of Dunne for his helpful feedback during P1 in Austria
“I’m super excited to be back for my second FP1 with McLaren in Monza this weekend,” said Dunne.
“My first one in Austria was an extremely special day for me so to do it again at Monza, a track which is so historic, is going to be put a big smile on my face, so really looking forward to it.
“Hopefully I can build and improve upon what was a strong outing in Austria and help Lando and Oscar as much as possible going into the Grand Prix.”
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Dunne was buoyant after finishing fourth during opening practice in Austria
All 10 Formula 1 teams must run a rookie in at least four practice sessions this season.
McLaren have already announced IndyCar star Pato O’Ward will get an outing at his home event in Mexico City in October and are likely to complete the rookie requirements in Abu Dhabi with a driver yet to be confirmed.
Who is Alex Dunne?
Born on November 11 2005 in Offaly, Dunne quickly rose through the karting ranks and jumped at the opportunity to drive in Formula 4 when he turned 15 – the minimum age you can drive at that level.
He took pole position and a podium on his single-seater debut in F4, then dominated the British F4 season in 2022 as interest increased.
Dunne was runner-up to Kimi Antonelli in Italian F4 in the same year, then finished second in the GB3 Championship in 2023. Although he struggled to consistently shine in F3, McLaren signed him in May 2024 and Dunne made the step up to F2 with Rodin Motorsport this year.
Dunne has previously impressed in Formula 2 and Formula 3
He was not expected to be a title challenger but found himself leading the standings after two impressive feature race wins in Bahrain and Imola, plus two other podiums in the early part of the season.
However, he was deemed at fault for a Turn 1 incident in Monaco’s Feature Race in May against Victor Martins which caused a pile-up. Dunne was heavily criticised on social media, which led to him deleting apps on his phone.
“I got a lot of stuff after Monaco, normally I’m not someone who reads things and gets annoyed by them,” he said.
“But I think an hour after the race, I deleted social media off my phone because I’ve never received such bad messages in my life. A lot of the stuff I got was really bad and quite upsetting, to be honest.”
Dunne bounced back from a grid penalty for the Monaco incident by flying through the field from 19th to second place in the F2 Sprint in Spain and took fifth in the Feature Race to retain his championship lead.
Dunne is already the first Irish driver to participate at a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years
He crossed the line in second at the next round in the Austria Feature Race, the same weekend he made his F1 practice debut for McLaren, but was disqualified for excessive plank wear.
Dunne took second in the Silverstone Feature Race and the Hungary Sprint but was penalised after a dominant victory in the rain in Belgium for a start procedure infringement.
The recent mixed results put him fifth in the F2 championship, 30 points behind leader Leonardo Fornaroli with four events to go in the season.
Sky Sports F1’s Italian GP Schedule
Thursday September 4
2pm: Drivers’ Press Conference
Friday September 5
8.30am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: Italian Grand Prix Practice One (session starts at 12:30pm)*
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.35pm: Italian Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday September 6
8.10am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Italian Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 11:30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Italian Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
3pm: ITALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 7
7.10am: F3 Feature Race
8.40am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up
2pm: THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2025 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton makes his first appearance at Monza for Ferrari, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
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