McLaren has unexpectedly dropped Alex Dunne from its Formula 1 driver development programme, opening the door for another team to sign the highly rated 19-year-old.
Dunne, who only joined McLaren last year, has impressed in 2025 with a race-winning rookie season in Formula 2 and an eye-catching Friday practice debut for the F1 team in Austria.
Various incidents have hindered his F2 title challenge – some out of his control – but Dunne is still fifth in the points with two events remaining.
His main racing programme had also been dovetailed with F1 testing in a 2023 McLaren, and a test and reserve driver role for McLaren’s now-defunct Formula E team.
But ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, McLaren announced it has “ended its contract” with Dunne and that he “will be released with immediate effect”.
Earlier this week another McLaren junior, Martinius Stenshorne, was announced as a 2026 F2 driver for Rodin – the team Dunne currently races for, and may still continue with next year.
McLaren is understood to have given Dunne options beyond this season but with no agreement to be reached, it opted to sever ties immediately.
That suggests that the team's plan for how it could expand his F1 opportunities, or the timeline for him to potentially get a race seat, clashed with what was preferred by Dunne and his management.
Whether there was a bigger fallout is unclear. McLaren said “it has been a pleasure to work with Alex over the last year and to have been able to contribute to his success and growth as a driver,” and also wished him “all the best for his career going forward”.
Dunne is now clear for an imminent move to another F1 team, with a new opportunity likely as a result of his McLaren break-up – rather than being the cause of it.
Red Bull looks the most likely destination. Its motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, de facto head of its young driver programme, has been interested in Dunne previously.
While Red Bull would be able to offer Dunne the chance of an F1 seat sooner than McLaren could, his programme would likely be much the same as with McLaren – testing and FP1 chances alongside racing in F2.
But it would be a good place for Dunne to land as there would be opportunities further down the line.
Not only does Red Bull have two teams to work with, it also has some pressing problems to resolve and likely vacancies – whereas McLaren’s line-up is set for several years with current championship rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Red Bull has three seats theoretically available next year: one at Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen and the two Racing Bulls seats.
Current Red Bull-backed F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson are all in contention while Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad could be promoted from F2.
It is unlikely Dunne would enter the race for an immediate F1 seat but he could become a contender for one during 2026 or for 2027.
The post McLaren's shock split with top F1 junior – what we know appeared first on Formula 1 – The Race.