Former McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne has revealed the chain of events which led to his surprise exit from the team in October.
Dunne announced his exit on Instagram, stating that he had 'mutually decided to part ways with the McLaren Driver Development programme'.
His departure came as a surprise to many fans, especially as he took part in two FP1 sessions for McLaren during 2025, at the Austrian and Italian Grands Prix.
Dunne also competed in Formula 2 last year for Rodin Motorsport - with the backing of McLaren - and finished in fifth place in the standings.
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He led the Drivers' Championship after four rounds but then caused a turn one pile-up in Monaco, which caused him to lose the lead that he never recovered.
The Irishman was linked with a move to Red Bull as part of their driver academy following his McLaren exit.
But Dutch outlet De Limburger reported last month that Red Bull terminated Dunne's contract after he was signed to the team by advisor Helmut Marko without the knowledge of senior management.
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The situation is believed to have played a role in Marko's exit from the team after 21 years at the end of 2025.
Dunne, 20, is confirmed to be continuing with Rodin in F2 for 2026, but he is yet to find a new F1 team.
Speaking to Balls.ie, Dunne has revealed more details behind his McLaren departure.
He explained that, given the success of McLaren's current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, he felt he had to look elsewhere in order to secure a future F1 seat.
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"For me, there's a goal and a plan in place, and that's to be a Formula One driver," he said, adding that he had discussed his decision with his father, former racing driver Noel.
"From the options that I knew I had, the decision we made was one that had to be made to be in F1. I think it's as simple as that.
"It was actually my decision ... for me, I felt like it was the right decision. I'm more than comfortable with that.
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"I'll always thank McLaren for that opportunity [to compete in FP1] 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 two FP1s was obviously pretty special.
"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.
"They were really nice with me and really helpful, any time I asked questions or was interested in learning something from them ... I think what I've learned from this year, I'll take with me forever."
Topics: McLaren, Formula 1, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Ryan Smart