Dunne to drive for McLaren in Austria F1 practice
Alex Dunne will become the first Irish driver to participate in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years at the Austrian Grand Prix.The teenager will replace championship leader Oscar Piastri/championship challenger Lando Norris (delete appropriate driver) in first practice on Friday for frontrunners McLaren.Dunne, who is a development driver for McLaren, has impressed in his first year in Formula 2 and he leads the championship has won two races and leads the championship.He prepared for his first practice session by getting his first drive in an old Formula 1 car at Zandvoort in March.It is understood Dunne, 19, had a second test at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas to further prepare for his first Formula 1 weekend.
Dunne will become the first Irish driver to participate on a Grand Prix weekend since Ralph Firman in 2003.English-born Firman raced under an Irish licence for Jordan Grand Prix for a sole season in 2003.The last driver born on the island of Ireland to compete in Formula 1 was former Ferrari and Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine, who was from Northern Ireland and raced under a UK licence from 1993 to 2002.Formula 1 teams have to offer young or rookie drivers four mandatory practice sessions in the 24-race season.Dunne's appearance in Austria will be a second session for McLaren after it was announced IndyCar star Pato O'Ward will run at his home race in October's Mexican Grand Prix.It is reward for Dunne's impressive performances since stepping up to Formula 2 this season. He claimed a first victory of the season for Rodin Motorsport in Bahrain at the second round, and won again at Imola in May. Dunne also qualified on pole position with a blistering lap in Monaco, but was deemed at fault and handed a grid penalty for a first-corner crash that took him, and several other drivers, out of the race.However, he put in a superb drive at the following round in Barcelona to go from the penalty-inflicted 19th to second, and reclaimed the championship lead with fifth place in the feature race. The opening Formula 1 practice session takes place at 12:30 BST on Friday.Dunne, a former British F4 champion and GB3 Championship runner-up, will continue his Formula 2 campaign at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on top of his Formula 1 commitments.
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