Irish driver Alex Dunne qualifies 5th in Spain but hit with big penalties
Alex Dunne qualified in 5th place for the Spanish F2 Grand Prix in Barcelona, with Arvid Lindblad becoming the youngest pole-sitter in F2 history.
However Dunne will serve a 13-place grid penalty for the sprint race on Saturday, leaving him in P18, and a separate 3-place drop means he will start from 8th place on the grid for Sunday's feature race.
The championship leader Luke Browning qualified in 8th, which will become P7 after the penalties are applied.
Dunne received a 3-place penalty for both Barcelona races after misjudging the pace of Victor Martins as both cars entered the pit lane, with the Offaly teenager making contact with the back of the Frenchman's car as he slammed on the brakes.
The 10-place grid penalty for the sprint race due to his role in the Monaco pile-up last time out is added to the 3-place penalty, resulting in a 13-place drop for the Rodin Motorsport driver.
With 8 penalty points on his license, he now runs the risk of a race ban should he reach 12 points.
Dunne's first lap, a 1:25.905, was good enough for 5th position after all the cars had set a time, with the Offaly man setting the early pace.
The McLaren Driver Development Programme driver went out early during the final runs, setting a lap good enough for P2 with a 1:25.602 in the early stages before he was overtaken by Sebastian Montoya, Kush Maini, Roman Stanek and the polesitter Lindblad.
Meanwhile, practice is ongoing in F1 with a much-touted technical directive on front wing flexion coming into effect this weekend.
The change aims to tighten the cars together, but so far in practice, it seems that the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are still on top.
The F2 sprint race begins at 1:15pm Irish time on Saturday, while the feature race goes lights out at 9am on Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
5 hours ago
- The 42
Ireland's Sharlene Mawdsley produces season's best performance in US
IRISH ATHLETE Sharlene Mawdsley produced a season's best performance in the 400m event at the Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia today. The 26-year-old finished fifth out of eight athletes with a time of 51.12. Advertisement The race was won by Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic in a time of 49.12. Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser, a former world champion, had seemingly finished second but was ultimately disqualified for a lane impediment. Nickisha Pryce of Jamaica (50.04) consequently moved up to the runners-up spot, while American pair Isabella Whittaker (50.16) and Alexis Holmes (51.02) also finished ahead of the Tipperary native. Mawdsley returns to action tomorrow, as she competes in the 200m at 9.43pm Irish time. Andrew Coscoran also features on Sunday — the 3000m event starts at 9:27pm Irish time. 🏃♀️ Démonstration de Marileidy Paulino 🇩🇴, la championne olympique du 400m fait la différence sur la dernière ligne droite pour s'imposer en 49.12 SB devant Salwa Eid Naser 🇧🇭 49.47 et Nickisha Pryce 🇯🇲 50.04 SB.#Athlétisme #GSTPhilly — (@NelsonCarterJr) May 31, 2025 You can view the results of tonight's events in full here.
The 42
5 hours ago
- The 42
'I'll bring some tissues next time' - Verstappen and Russell snipe at each other over collision
GEORGE RUSSELL SUGGESTED Max Verstappen should have been disqualified for causing a deliberate and unnecessary crash in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix – with the latter then offering his upset British rival a tissue. A processional race at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya – which was won by Oscar Piastri as he extended his championship advantage over second-placed Lando Norris from three points to 10 – came alive on lap 64 of 66 when a furious Verstappen and Russell came to blows. Following a safety-car restart, Verstappen fell off the road as he attempted to defend fourth position from Russell. He rejoined ahead of the Mercedes driver but was advised by his Red Bull team to concede the position. Verstappen slowed down at Turn 5 to allow Russell past, but then accelerated and drove into his rival's Mercedes. Drama in the closing stages of the race! 😱 Max Verstappen drops to P10 following a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell #F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Advertisement 'What the f***'?' Russell said on the radio. Verstappen later moved out of Russell's way, and crossed the line in fifth. However, he was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards – demoting him to 10th – and also punished with three penalty points on his licence which leaves him just one point away from a race ban. In commentary for Sky Sports, Nico Rosberg said Verstappen's sanction was too lenient and that he should have been shown a black flag – an immediate disqualification. And when the 2016 world champion's claim was put to Russell, the Englishman replied: 'If it was truly deliberate then absolutely, because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver. 'We are putting our lives on the line. We are fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days but we shouldn't take it for granted. 'It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim racing and go-karts. I have never seen it in a Formula One race. It felt strange, bizarre and I really don't know what was going through his mind. 'It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but manoeuvres like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down, and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers.' Responding to Russell's criticism, Verstappen said: 'Well, I'll bring some tissues next 'He has his view, I have my view. It's better not to comment. In life you shouldn't regret too many things. (I have) no regrets.' Verstappen had just lost third place to Charles Leclerc after he opened the door to the Ferrari driver when he made a mistake on the exit of the final corner in a six-lap shootout to the flag following the deployment of a safety car. Russell then attempted to sling his Mercedes underneath Verstappen's Red Bull at the first corner before the Dutchman took to the escape road and remained ahead of the Briton. 'Max, can you let Russell through, please?' said Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase. 'What? I was ahead, mate. What the f***! He just ran me off the road.' Explaining their decision to hit Verstappen with a 10-second penalty – which leaves him a distant 49 points adrift of Piastri in the championship – the stewards said: 'From the radio communications, it was clear that the driver of Car 1 (Verstappen) was asked by his team to 'give the position back' to Car 63 (Russell) for what they perceived to be an earlier breach by Car 1 for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage (in fact, we had later determined that we would take no further action in relation to that incident). 'The driver of Car 1 was clearly unhappy with his team's request to give the position back. At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 to overtake. 'However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63. The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1.'
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
The worst race I have experienced – Lewis Hamilton bemoans performance in Spain
A demoralised Lewis Hamilton described his latest Ferrari horror show at Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix as one of the worst races he has ever experienced. Hamilton was ordered by Ferrari to move aside for team-mate Charles Leclerc on lap 10 and was then passed by Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg in the closing laps. Hamilton finished seventh but moved up one place to sixth in the final classification following Max Verstappen's sanction. After all that drama... let's take a look at our top 🔟 in Spain! 🇪🇸⬇️#F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Leclerc took the chequered flag in third to land his third podium of the season, but Hamilton is yet to take a top-three finish in nine Ferrari starts. He is 23 points behind Leclerc, and 115 adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri. 'I have no idea why it was so bad,' said 40-year-old Hamilton. 'That was the worst race I have experienced, balance-wise.' Lewis Hamilton greeted England skipper Harry Kane before the race in Barcelona (Phil Duncan/PA) Quizzed as to whether he could take any positives from Sunday's performance, the seven-time world champion replied: 'Zero.' And then asked where he goes from here, Hamilton answered: 'Home.' Hamilton had been able to take confidence from out-qualifying Leclerc for just the second time this campaign, and appeared in good spirits prior to Sunday's race when he embraced England captain Harry Kane and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka in the moments before the lights went out. He then moved ahead of former Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the opening bend to take fourth. I have no idea why it was so bad. That was the worst race I have experienced, balance-wise But Hamilton's afternoon soon unravelled when he failed to match Leclerc's speed, and he was told by race engineer Riccardo Adami to 'trade places' with his team-mate. It is the second time this season that Hamilton has been ordered out of Leclerc's way in a race. Hamilton won the sprint round in China in March, but his record in the main events so far for Ferrari reads 10th, disqualified, seventh, fifth, seventh, eighth, fourth, fifth and sixth. Hamilton added: 'The team did a great job and that is all I can say. I didn't have any speed at the end.'
