Major update in Alex Dunne’s bid to become an F1 driver in 2026 as ‘talks begin’

Dunne could get his chance with Cadillac next season

Planet F1 also say that Sergio Perez is set to make a sensational return to F1 with Cadillac, who will reportedly pick one experienced driver, and one young prospect.

They say Irishman Dunne is in talks with the team, along with fellow F2 driver Jak Crawford and Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.

Dunne, just 19, made his F1 debut this season by filling in for Lando Norris for McLaren in the first practice of the Austrian Grand Prix, coming in just a tenth of a second behind team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The Offaly man is still in with a chance of winning the F2 championship despite becoming unstuck recently in Belgium and Austria, and sits in fifth place, 29 points off leader Leonardo Fornaroli.

Chandhok: McLaren should loan Dunne out

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok said in June that McLaren should be looking to ‘loan out’ Dunne for 2026 to get experience.

“If I was McLaren now, I’d be trying to do a deal with Cadillac or someone like that to farm him out,” said Chandhok.

“Based on everything he’s shown – he’s leading the F2 championship, they’ve seen potential in testing, and we’re now seeing it publicly.

“You want to find him a seat somewhere to build up some racing experience. I’d be trying to get him a deal somewhere else for a period of time.

“Farm him out, have him on some sort of tether that they can pull him back in, in the way Mercedes did with George Russell in the past.”

After a break, Dunne returns to F2 in the first weekend of September in Monza, before four more races to finish the 2025 season.