Latest news with #FIAFormula2
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Jordan and Birrane to be remembered at Mondello Park
Mondello Park will hold its annual Carol Nash Historic festival of classic racing this weekend and tributes to the late Eddie Jordan and Martin Birrane, the late owner of the Co Kildare circuit, who would have turned 90 this year, will feature. The main straight at Mondello Park will be renamed the Birrane Straight in honour of the Mayo man, who saved the track from closure when he bought the venue back in the mid-1980s Birrane set up the Mondello Park museum some years ago and two of its cars, the V10-engined Jordan 195 and the Pacific PR01, which saw action in the 1994 F1 season, will both have demonstration runs as part of the 'Eddie Jordan - From Grid to Glory' event. Some of Jordan's family, as well as friends and former teammates, will be along for the Jordan-themed events on Saturday. Five-time grand prix winner John Watson will also be in attendance along with Dubliner Derek Daly the last driver from the Republic of Ireland to race in F1, when he competed for Williams Grand Prix back in 1982, Martin Donnelly, whose 1990 crash in the Lotus-Lamborghini was referenced in F1:The Movie this year, will also be in Mondello. FIA Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne, who may be on his way to F1 next season with the new Cadillac outfit, and World Rally Championship driver Josh McErlean will make up the new breed of Irish drivers plying their trade at the top of world motorsport this weekend Not only will there be static displays and celebrity drivers, but Mondello will also finally get to host Formula Ford 1600 racing, the class where most began their racing careers. On Saturday the drivers in FF1600 will vie for the Fionn Murray Trophy and on Sunday for the Vivion Daly Trophy. They were both stalwarts of the series back in its heyday in the 1980s and '90s and he families of Fionn and Vivion will be in attendance to present the trophies. Let us hope those who are in Mondello will get to see a decent grid of cars representing FFord racing. The Irish International Grand Prix Trophy; The Dublin Grand Prix Trophy; and The St Brigid's Trophy, which cover open-wheel, GT, saloon, and vintage car grids from the 1920s to 1960s will also take to the track over the two days Meanwhile, the Ulster Rally takes place this Friday and Saturday and is the penultimate round of NAPA Autoparts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship (ITRC), with only the Cork 20 to run as the final round in October. The Galway International was due to be the opening round in February, but it was cancelled due to storm damage, reducing the ITRC to six rounds. The 2023 ITRC winner and number-one seed Callum Devine arrives at the Ulster Rally carrying the momentum of three consecutive victories and seeking hist first in this event, having notched up runner-up finishes in the past two years. Devine would win the ITRC for a second time with victory in the Newry-based event. Hot on his heels is the in-form David Kelly, who sits 21 points behind Devine in the championship standings and has been knocking on the door of his maiden rally victory all season. Adding intrigue to the Rally2 category are the father and son duo of Declan and Michael Boyle, both competing in Skoda Fabias. Declan Boyle, the 2014 ITRC winner finds himself sitting just six points behind Kelly and holding a narrow three-point advantage over his son Michael. Kevin Eves and Chris Melly will be looking to build on their encouraging seventh-place finish in Donegal as they continue their maiden season campaigning a Ford Fiesta Rally2. International interest comes courtesy of Welsh driver Osian Pryce, the 2022 British Rally Champion, who will behind the wheel of his Hyundai i20 Rally2. Pryce has an abundance of Ulster Rally experience, including victory in the Citroen DS3 R3T category back in 2013. Adding further depth to the Rally2 field is the welcome return of Darren Gass, the 2012 Irish Tarmac Rally Champion, driving a Volkswagen Polo R5.
RTÉ News
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Alex Dunne to make F1 practice session debut for McLaren in Austria on Friday
Alex Dunne will take another step in his burgeoning career this weekend when the Offaly man will get behind the wheel of the McLaren Formula One car for Friday's first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix. The 19-year-old has had numerous highs in the FIA Formula 2 feeder series this year. Driving for the Rodin team, the McLaren development driver has won two feature races in Bahrain and Imola, and currently leads the driver standings by three points ahead of the Netherlands' Richard Verschoor. He is also a reserve and development driver for McLaren's Formula E team. Dunne has already had the opportunity to test drive an older McLaren F1 car, doing so at Zandvoort last month but this Friday at the Red Bull Ring will mark his first opportunity to drive the MCL39 during a grand prix weekend. Under the rules for 2025, F1 teams are required to field young drivers in free practice twice during the year, increasing from one in previous seasons. In Friday's hour-long FP1 session, which will start at 12.30pm Irish time, Dunne will sit in for McLaren driver Lando Norris, who is second in the Formula One drivers standings behind team-mate Oscar Piastri after the duo collided in Canada in the last round. "It's an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria. I'm really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead," Dunne said. "I've been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience. Thank you to Zak, Andrea and Alessandro for their faith in me. It's a great step within my development with the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and I'm really excited to join the team trackside." While Dunne will participate in FP1, he will also be looking to bolster his F2 title bid with Austria also hosting the seventh round of the second tier series' championship.
The Hindu
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
F1's next big hope is rising rapidly through the ranks
The road to Formula One, the pinnacle of single-seater racing, is one of the most challenging in sports. While the pathway to get there is structured through various levels in junior formulae, getting through those in the shortest time frame is the challenge most young racing drivers face. Ever since Max Verstappen burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old, the top teams have always been in constant search for the next big thing. In the lead-up to this season, there was much hype around Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old who replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this year. Many believe that the Italian is the next big thing in the mould of Verstappen. Alongside Antonelli, this year, F1 is undergoing a generational transformation with as many as six rookies entering their first full season. Next year, the sport could have one more young gun joining the ranks. In April, during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, the 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad made history by becoming the youngest driver to win an FIA Formula 2 race in the sprint race that weekend. The British racer has been part of Red Bull Racing's junior programme for the last few years and is one of the brightest prospects in the junior categories. Interestingly, the teenager has Indian heritage through his mother and is quite familiar with the culture, having grown up in a household where his maternal grandmother took care of him and even prepared Indian food for race meetings. Last year, he visited India with his parents and maternal grandparents. The Red Bull hierarchy, including Dr. Helmut Marko, in charge of the young driver's programme, and team boss Christian Horner, has constantly referred to Lindblad as their next big bet in F1. 'Taking a win, it's just a big confidence booster. It takes away a bit of pressure, but it's not like there's no pressure because one win will not change your career. It was good to get the season started, and I'm very happy,' said Lindblad. 'I think it feels good, but there's still a lot of work to be done. It was a sprint race, not a feature. It gives me confidence that I'm doing a good job and we're making steps forward. However, I'm not naive enough to think this is okay. I mean, I've still got a lot of work to be done. There's still a lot of work to be done. I'm not settling down now just because I won a race,' he explained after his record-breaking feat. Earlier this year, the youngster won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand, which helped him earn enough points to qualify for an FIA Super License, a prerequisite for participating in F1. He will have it once he turns 18 in August. However, in a clear sign of faith in the youngster, Red Bull has requested that the FIA fast-track his application, and the governing body is set to meet next week to determine if the exemption can be granted to him. Apart from his sheer speed and consistent results, it is Lindblad's meteoric rise through the junior ranks that has stood out in his journey so far, despite coming from a non-racing background. Recently, Dr Marko recalled the first time he met the youngster, who was 13 at the time, during a karting world championship event. He was impressed by his maturity and signed him up for the Red Bull Junior programme. 'If I look back, I met him first in Portimão. I met him and his father, and Arvid was leading the conversation. So that also was something which is not normal,' Marko said to the Inside Line F1 podcast. The Red Bull programme is known for being cut-throat, and Dr. Marko's reputation is one of a stern taskmaster and someone ruthless when it comes to dropping drivers who don't deliver. However, Lindblad says he doesn't feel the pressure and instead revels in it. 'I feel I'm pretty good at blocking out the noise on that side. And also, I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want to be in Formula One. That's also why Dr. Marko and I get along quite well. I think sometimes on these junior teams, it's easy to maybe lose sight of why you're there and what you're doing, because you feel the pressure from the bosses to perform. I can flip it a different way and say I'm here because they believe in me, and I want to reach Formula One, and they only want to help me get there. So I don't feel any pressure on that side,' he adds. One of the challenges of advancing through the ranks is not to stay at the same level for too long, but to continually step up. More than half of the current grid has followed the F4, F3, and F2 routes. Seamless progress After acing the karting level, the 17-year-old began single-seater racing properly only two years ago in F4 and has progressed seamlessly to the following levels, reaching F2 in only his third year in cars. 'I feel that in F2, of course, the second and third seasons help a lot, but I think even in the younger categories, it makes an even bigger difference. You can imagine when you're young, there's a lot more to learn. So I think that makes a big difference. I think that a second year or an extra year helps a lot,' Lindblad explains. 'I'm still learning massively. The step I made during the F3 season alone was huge just cause it was my second year in a car and most people are doing that second year in a car in F4, or FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship).' Last year in the FIA F3, Lindblad finished fourth in the standings and briefly led the championship, achieving some impressive wins, including a double win at Silverstone (Sprint and Feature races). In one race that weekend, he came through the field from outside the top-10. Speaking about the targets for the season, Lindblad said it is to start fighting for wins regularly by the second half of the season. 'I think that the goal is similar to F3, to sort of learn the first couple of races. It is a big step. I'm still young and experienced and sort of just chip away at it, but by the second half of the season, I want to be challenging for wins and poles. If I'm being honest, I want to do it earlier than the second half of the season. I'm just really focused on myself and trying to keep learning, working with the team, because I believe that we can.' Shining in Spain Cut to earlier this week, Lindblad already hit his next goal when he clinched his maiden pole position during the Spanish GP weekend in Barcelona and also managed his first feature race win. The victory has put him just eight points behind leader Alex Dunne and is in the thick of the fight for the F2 title. In fact, a few years ago, while he was still in karts, Lindblad told current McLaren driver and title contender Lando Norris that he would be racing against him in F1 soon. 'It was quite funny,' he says, recalling the incident. 'I met him when he came to the kart track in 2021, and we were all racing. It was a big karting race, and he came because he was launching his own chassis. And I remember I was just there with my friend, and I saw him, and I said to my friend, I'm going to go and talk to him, and he was like 'no, you're not brave enough.' Initially, I was kind of on the edge, but then when he said that, that he almost didn't believe that I was going to do it, that almost was like motivation for me. And I don't know, I just went straight up to Lando. I just saw Lando, and I was like, 'Remember me, I'll see you in five years.' And it was meant in just like sort of a joking manner, but also with a hint of determination, saying, I'm going to be pushing hard, and I hope to do it in the future. And yeah, I have been working hard the last couple of years. I didn't leave myself a very easy timeline, because I had to do one category for every year, which is what I have done.' In a few months, Lindblad will be eligible to participate in F1 free practice sessions, in which teams are mandated to run young drivers, and will even have the opportunity to run alongside Norris and showcase his abilities behind the wheel of an F1 car. Being part of Red Bull means he is part of a team that controls four seats in F1 with potential vacancies. But at the same time, Lindblad says that while he is aware of the opportunities, he wants to avoid dwelling too far into the future and is focused on the job at hand. 'I'm quite aware. I see the news reports that Dr. Marko and Christian Horner are mentioning me in a positive light, which is good and means they're pleased with what I'm doing. That gives me confidence and a sign that I am doing things right, and just to keep sort of working the same way.' 'But I am also very aware that it can change very quickly, and them talking about me now is not going to get me to F1 next year. I try not to think about it. I just focus on the performance in F2 because I know that's what will get me to F1. I know, I'm confident that if I do well, there'll be an opportunity for me.' 'Hopefully, I will do F2 once, and then I will be in F1 next year. And then that will be the timeline sorted. So yeah, we will see.'
RTÉ News
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Alex Dunne stays top of F2 standings after fifth place finish in Barcelona
Ireland's Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) continues to lead the FIA Formula 2 championship, the main support class to F1 race weekends, after a fifth-place finish in today's F2 feature race in Barcelona. Dunne started the second race of the weekend in Spain in eighth place on the grid, following a three-place penalty for an incident in the free practice session in which he collided with Victor Martins. The Offlay teenager eventually finished fifth with Britain's Arvid Lindblad converting pole position into his maiden Formula 2 feature race victory, also giving his Spanish team Campos Racing their first win on home soil in the Championship. Dunne, who is part of McLaren's driver development programme, picked up a bonus point on offer for registering the fastest lap of the race. Up ahead Lindblad was never threatened, leading home PREMA Racing's Sebastián Montoya who finished second and MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor in third, after a late safety car was withdrawn on the final lap. Dunne's fifth place came after his incredible drive in Saturday's sprint race, where he swept aside grid penalties to climb from the back of the grid in 19th place to finish second and take the overall championship lead after six rounds. The Offalyman did had wait to see if the race stewards took any retrospective action for an alleged yellow flag infringement late on in the feature race, but he was exonerated and kept his fifth place finish and with it, the championship lead. The 19-year-old sits atop the F2 series standings ahead of this month's Austrian Grand Prix on 87 points, three clear of Richard Verschoor with Lindblad a further five points back in third. Speaking after his astonishing sprint race second placed finish Dunne said: "I think we've seen over the past couple of weekends that the pace is more than there, but sometimes you just need to accept that you are where you are, instead of trying to go for more. That is something we need to dial in a bit more in the coming weekends"
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Alex Dunne grabs maiden F2 pole at prestigious Monaco Grand Prix
Alex Dunne has claimed his maiden pole position in FIA Formula 2 after setting the fastest time in Friday's qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Offaly native, has already enjoyed a stellar season to date in the final feeder series leading to Formula One, winning the feature races in Bahrain and Imola, which has left him top of the drivers standings. The McLaren development driver has an opportunity to extend that championship lead at an iconic Monaco street circuit where qualification is more paramount than at any other venue. The 19-year-old, who drivers for the Rodin team in F2, made his way round the Monte Carlo streets in a time of 1:21.142 , three thousands of a second faster than Victor Martins of ART Grand Prix, which ensured that he will start from pole for Sunday's feature race. 🏁 CHEQUERED FLAG 🏁 BY THREE THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND, ALEX DUNNE GRABS POLE!!! A 1:21.142 secures the championship leader pole position for Sunday's Feature Race #F2 #MonacoGP — Formula 2 (@Formula2) May 23, 2025 Next up for Dunne in Monaco will be Saturday's sprint race, before the feature race the following morning which will precede the F1 race.
