Now-former McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne turned into a young star this season, having made waves in Formula 2. The Irish driver has shown bouts of incredible pace this year, both in Formula 2 and in the few Formula 1 free practice sessions in which he has taken part for McLaren.
Despite his aggressive driving style, which has raised concerns among interested teams, it seems almost certain that Dunne will eventually be on the Formula 1 grid. But with McLaren turning into the best team in Formula 1 and having two drivers set for the long term, chances are the 19-year-old will not make his breakthrough with them.
Now that Dunne has left the McLaren organization, Helmut Marko has reportedly been quick to approach him, as it appears he will turn into a Red Bull junior driver fairly soon. Arvid Lindblad’s highly anticipated move to Racing Bulls will likely mean Dunne must wait another year in Formula 2 to join Formula 1 in 2027.
Liam Lawson could be impacted the most
Yuki Tsunoda has the highest odds of being dropped by Red Bull after the 2025 season as things stand right now. Isack Hadjar will likely get promoted to the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen while Lindblad replaces him.
While Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls seat appears to be safe heading into 2026, the potential arrival of Dunne would automatically put his seat under threat for 2027.
Red Bull see Racing Bulls as a junior team, so Lawson is not meant to be a long-term driver. With Pepe Marti not currently on track to make it to Formula 1 in the near term and Nikola Tsolov still developing as he makes his way up from Formula 3, Dunne could eventually slide into Lawson's seat.
If Red Bull were to move forward with Dunne, he would instantly become their top junior driver, and he is poised to be a serious contender for the Formula 2 title next season. Dunne would be poised to join Racing Bulls in 2027, which would essentially force Lawson to look for a seat at another team or in a different racing series entirely.