Lando Norris is set to miss out on the FP1 session at the Austrian Grand Prix. McLaren have announced that F2 driver Alex Dunne with replace the Briton to make his F1 weekend debut.
Lando Norris is currently second in the world championship, trailing championship leader and teammate Oscar Piastri by 22 points. His preparation going into round 11 of the season will be slightly hindered, as he will only participate in two free practice sessions.
Alex Dunne is a McLaren junior driver, currently competing in the F2 championship with Rodin Motorsports. The 19-year-old is currently leading the championship in his debut season. He had already claimed two feature race victories this year, in Bahrain and Imola.
Now, the Irishman is set to make his F1 weekend debut. He will be stepping into Norris’ car at the Red Bull Ring on Friday, June 27.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria,” said Dunne. [via McLaren press release]
“I’m really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead.” he added.
Alex Dunne has risen through the ranks in the last few years, competing in numerous regional F4 championships. In 2024, he was scouted by Ferrari, but was signed by McLaren to their development program. He made his debut in F3 that same year, before being promoted to F2 in 2025.
Dunne has looked like one of the quickest drivers in F1’s support series this year. But the teenager has also come under some criticism. He was blamed for causing an 11 car crash at turn one during the F2 feature race at Monaco. Many fans criticized his race craft for causing such a major incident.
McLaren not changing “Papaya rules” after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crashed in Canada
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has claimed that McLaren will not stop Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from racing each other following their incident in Canada. Many fans had expected to see a difference in approach after Norris crashed into the back of his teammate, causing a race-ending collision with the wall in turn 1 for himself.
But speaking after the race, Stella highlighted that the drivers will remain free to race.
“The being free to race and the being clear as to how we go racing is a value of racing and is a value of racing that we want to try and exercise and respect as much as we can, rather than every time that we have a proximity between the two cars, then having control from the pit wall.” [via Sky Sports]
“I don’t foresee that [Canada’s] episode will change our approach from this point of view. If anything, it will reinforce and it will strengthen that the principles we have require more caution by our drivers.” Stella added.
Stella also claimed that the Papaya team wants their drivers to be wherever they will be on the championship table at the end of the season, based on merit.
Teammates crashing into each other is a team’s worst nightmare. But the situation did not boil over in Montreal. This was because Norris admitted to his mistake and apologized instantly after the accident happened, and Piastri did not lose out on any points.
