Alex Dunne to drive for McLaren in free practice at Austria

Alex Dunne, McLaren junior and current Formula Two championship leader | Credit: McLaren F1

Lando Norris will be replaced by Formula Two championship leader Alex Dunne for the first free practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Speculation will be rife as to why Norris rather than Piastri will miss FP1 with the 19-year-old Dunne given the nod for his first laps in a Formula One car - the first Irishman to do so in 22 years, Ralph Firman being the last when he drove for Jordan in 2003.

Dunne has been part of Mclaren’s driver programme since 2024 and with F1 teams required to run a rookie at least twice in practice sessions over the course of a season, a first drive at an F1 weekend for the Rodin Motorsport driver seemed all but certain in 2025.

Confirmed by Mclaren on Monday afternoon, Dunne said in a statement on their official website:

“It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria.”

“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.”

“I’ve been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in testing of previous cars [tests in the MCL60] and spending time in the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience.”

“Thank you to Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella] and Alessandro [Alunni Bravi] for their faith in me.”

The timing of the announcement after such a dramatic clash between the papaya drivers at round 10 in Canada will be sure to send the paddock rumour mill into a frenzy this coming weekend.