‘I worked with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – here’s how they really act off-camera’ | F1 | Sport
Alex Dunne has praised McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, explaining that the two 2025 title protagonists are ‘normal people’ who were ‘more than open’ to helping him during his stint as a junior driver for the team.
Dunne became a notable name in the F1 paddock in 2025 after shining in his test and reserve driver duties at the Austrian Grand Prix. The 20-year-old laid down lap times that were in close quarters with team-mate Piastri, putting him on the radar of casual fans and other teams on the grid.
After being linked with a shock switch to Red Bull, Dunne exited the McLaren young driver programme ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix in October, although he remains unattached as he prepares for his sophomore Formula Two campaign with Rodin Motorsport in 2026.
Shining a light on his experience with McLaren, Dunne told Balls.ie: “Getting to spend more time around Lando and Oscar as well was pretty cool, just to learn from them and see how they approach a weekend.
“Also getting to understand them a bit more as people as well. They have a very cool job, and they do what I hopefully wanna do one day. But I think they’re also just kind of normal people like the rest of us; it’s just they’re on a TV screen a lot more often.
“I think I learned a lot from both of them. They were really nice with me and really helpful, any time I asked them questions or was interested in learning something from them. They were always very helpful and more than open to help me if needed. It was very, very cool, and I think what I’ve learned from this year, I’ll take forward with me forever.”
With his McLaren ties now severed, Dunne is a free agent as he targets the F2 crown in his second year in the series. The Irishman has been linked with Alpine’s young driver programme, although no formal announcement has been made.
This could be an enticing route into the F1 paddock for Dunne, who will no doubt be looking to capitalise on the uncertainty surrounding Franco Colapinto’s future. The Argentine racer failed to score a point after replacing Jack Doohan in 2025, but was retained for 2026 as Flavio Briatore looks to give the 22-year-old more time.
Looking back at his McLaren stint, Dunne reflected: “It was pretty cool. FP1 in Austria went pretty well, I would say. No, it was amazing, to be honest.
“Although I’m not still with them now, I’ll always thank McLaren for that opportunity and for what they did for me up until we decided to go our separate ways. To have the opportunity this year to test an F1 car a couple of times outside of FP1 and then do two FP1s was obviously pretty special.”
