Looking forward to 2026, the junior circuit is set to undergo a slight shakeup on the Formula 2 side. Alex Dunne, one of F2’s fastest drivers this season, has made a move to bring his Formula 1 dreams closer to reality. The Irishman departed McLaren and will likely join the Red Bull junior team with hopes of breaking into F1 in 2027.
Martinius Stenshorne is now set to become McLaren’s most promising junior driver, and he has confirmed the step up to Formula 2 in 2026. The Norwegian driver is set to join Rodin Motorsport, which is Dunne’s current F2 team.
Stenshorne’s current path puts him in a good place to progress without feeling the pressure to perform instantly. The 19-year-old is unlikely to face the same issue Dunne faced, as Dunne had very little change to move up right away with Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri unlikely to depart in the near future.
If and when one of them does depart, however, McLaren could turn to Stenshorne if he is ready for the promotion to F1.
Another Red Bull junior will also reap the benefit
Nikola Tsolov is another promising junior driver from the Red Bull pipeline. After finishing runner-up in Formula 3 this past season, the Bulgarian is set to continue with Campos Racing in F2 next year. The 18-year-old is also someone who is expected to drive in F1 at some point in the future.
Despite how talented he is, Tsolov will benefit from having another driver slotted ahead of him in the pipeline upon the presumed arrival of Dunne.
Red Bull have been quite ruthless in moving on from drivers, and they have shown to cycle through drivers at their sister team quite often.
With Arvid Lindblad set to head to Racing Bulls in 2026, the potential arrival of Dunne removes some of the pressure on Tsolov to produce results right away and could also give him the opportunity to spend two seasons in F2 rather than just one. Racing Bulls could see themselves with a driver lineup of Dunne and Tsolov in 2028 if all goes according to plan.