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Irish Independent
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Alex Dunne drops to fifth in F2 Championship standings after ninth place finish at Hungaroring feature race
Despite receiving a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, the Italian managed the race superbly to extend his Championship lead and collect his third win of the season. DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford rounded out the podium after a late-race scrap with Stanek. However, Ireland's Alex Dunne was brought back down to earth from Saturday's sprint race podium after struggling to a ninth place finish, having started the race in that same position on the grid. The race got underway with a rolling start in slightly tricky conditions on a partially wet track, as pole-sitter Stanek held position ahead of Fornaroli and Crawford. A fierce midfield battle emerged behind them, involving Dunne (Rodin Motorsport), Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing), Oliver Goethe (MP Motorsport), Arvid Lindblad, Pepe Marti (both Campos), and Richard Verschoor (MP). Early drama came on lap 6 as Amaury Cordeel's stricken Rodin Motorsport car brought out a Virtual Safety Car (VSC), the first of two on the day with racing resuming on the eighth lap. Lindblad had made strong early progress on the medium compound tyres, jumping up to fifth with a bold move on Duerksen and Goethe, the latter of whom later ran wide trying to re-pass Lindblad and also dropped behind Dunne and Duerksen. The Virtual Safety Car was signalled once again with Victor Martins stopping his ART Grand Prix on track at the exit of turn 12. Green flag conditions returned on lap 11, and looking to get the jump on Lindblad, Goethe ran wide at lurn 12, dropping him to eighth behind Duerksen and Dunne. Dunne and Duerksen then went wheel-to-wheel down the main straight, with the Irishman taking sixth from the AIX Racing driver, despite a lockup into turn 2. But that was as good as it got for the medium compound-shod Offaly racer as strategy shaped the race, with early pit stops for the soft-tyre runners seeing Fornaroli leapfrog Stanek by staying out longer. ADVERTISEMENT Lindblad and his Campos teammate Josep Maria Marti led for a stint on the alternate strategy, but their challenge faded as they struggled to warm up their tyres post-pit stop. Verschoor capitalised, climbing to fifth with a solid strategy call but a poor pit stop for Dunne saw him drop down the field. The race came to a head in the final laps, as Crawford attempted to challenge Stanek for second, locking up into turn 1 and losing momentum, allowing Fornaroli to build a decisive gap. He crossed the line 7.2 seconds clear to nullify his penalty in a dominant win, as Invicta celebrated their one-two. Behind the podium finishers, Luke Browning claimed fourth, with Verschoor fifth and Lindblad narrowly fending off Dino Beganovic for sixth. Goethe, Dunne and Marti rounded out the points. Fornaroli's victory marks his third consecutive weekend with a win after taking sprint honours at Silverstone and Spa and extends his lead at the top of the standings to 17 points on 154. Crawford has moved up to second on 137 points, with Verschoor now on 135, Browning fourth on 125 points, while Dunne rounds out the top five on 124. The series will now see a month's break with the drivers returning for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for round 11 on September 05-07, the first of four remaining race weekends.
Irish Independent
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Alex Dunne drops to fifth in F2 Championship standings after ninth place finish in Hungaroring feature race
Despite receiving a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, the Italian managed the race superbly to extend his Championship lead and collect his third win of the season. DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford rounded out the podium after a late-race scrap with Stanek. However, Ireland's Alex Dunne was brought back down to earth from Saturday's sprint race podium after struggling to a ninth place finish, having started the race in that same position on the grid. The race got underway with a rolling start in slightly tricky conditions on a partially wet track, as Stanek held position ahead of Fornaroli and Crawford. A fierce midfield battle emerged behind them, involving Dunne (Rodin Motorsport), Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing), Oliver Goethe (MP Motorsport), Arvid Lindblad, Pepe Marti (Campos), and Richard Verschoor (MP). Early drama came on lap 6 as Amaury Cordeel's stricken Rodin Motorsport car brought out a Virtual Safety Car (VSC), the first of two on the day with racing resuming on the eighth lap. Lindblad had made strong early progress on the medium compound tyres, jumping up to fifth with a bold move on Duerksen and Goethe, the latter of whom later ran wide trying to re-pass Lindblad and also dropped behind Dunne and Duerksen. The Virtual Safety Car was signalled once again with Victor Martins stopping his ART Grand Prix on track at the exit of turn 12. Green flag conditions returned on lap 11, and looking to get the jump on Lindblad, Goethe ran wide at lurn 12, dropping him to eighth behind Duerksen and Dunne. Dunne and Duerksen then went wheel-to-wheel down the main straight, with the Irishman taking sixth from the AIX Racing driver, despite a lockup into turn 2. But that was as good as it got for the medium compound-shod Offaly racer as strategy shaped the race, with early pit stops for the soft-tyre runners seeing Fornaroli leapfrog Stanek by staying out longer. Lindblad and his Campos teammate Josep Maria Marti led for a stint on the alternate strategy, but their challenge faded as they struggled to warm up their tyres post-pit stop. Verschoor capitalised, climbing to fifth with a solid strategy call but a poor pit stop for Dunne saw him drop down the field. The race came to a head in the final laps, as Crawford attempted to challenge Stanek for second, locking up into turn 1 and losing momentum, allowing Fornaroli to build a decisive gap. He crossed the line 7.2 seconds clear to nullify his penalty in a dominant win, as Invicta celebrated their one-two. Behind the podium finishers, Luke Browning claimed fourth, with Verschoor fifth and Lindblad narrowly fending off Dino Beganovic for sixth. Goethe, Dunne and Marti rounded out the points. Fornaroli's victory marks his third consecutive weekend with a win after taking sprint honours at Silverstone and Spa and extends his lead at the top of the standings to 17 points on 154. Crawford has moved up to second on 137 points, with Verschoor now on 135, Browning fourth on 125 points, while Dunne rounds out the top five on 124. The series will now see a month's break with the drivers returning for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for round 11 on September 05-07, the first of four remaining race weekends.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Drama off the track at British GP continues to intrigue
On the surface, the British Grand Prix was all about the ongoing fight for the World Championship between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as McLaren's extraordinary domination of F1 continued round the very fast track in Northamptonshire. They had been upstaged in qualifying by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, partly thanks to a low-drag rear wing last used in Suzuka earlier in the season, and partly due to the world champion's extraordinary skill. But when the rain came at the start, Verstappen was pretty quicky doomed. After early Virtual Safety Car interventions, when things finally got going Piastri slipped ahead and opened a 14.4 second lead – until race director Rui Marques deemed that the actual Safety Car should be deployed to slow the cars down as there was too much standing water. The fact that Isack Hadjar crashed his RB into the back of Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes as soon as the track went green again suggested that Marques had done the right thing initially, since visibility was still poor.
Irish Independent
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Alex Dunne back on podium after second place finish at F2 British Grand Prix with winner potentially under review
And things could yet improve for the Offaly racer after Jak Crawford took a crucial though potentially controversial feature race win, closing the gap to championship leader Richard Verschoor to just six points. The American led for much of the race but came under increasing pressure from Dunne, who had qualified on the front row and steadily reeled in the leader. The 19-year-old was within half a second of Crawford by lap 21 of 29, having narrowed an earlier 1.5 second gap. Dunne briefly assumed the lead on lap 24 when Crawford pitted during a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period. Although Crawford moved towards the pit lane under yellow flags, it appeared that he had yet to cross the line into the pit lane before the status changed to the VSC. Officials have yet to confirm whether he complied with regulations as making a mandatory pit stop is forbidden under a VSC. A penalty would hand the race win to the Irish driver. That VSC was upgraded to a full Safety Car the following lap, adding further complexity to the strategy calls. Dunne made his own mandatory pit stop shortly after, rejoining just ahead of Luke Browning to retain second place, but behind Crawford, who ultimately took the chequered flag. It was a bounce back from a scoreless sprint race yesterday, where a clash with Gabriele Mini led to a puncture, to finish second in the feature and collect 18 valuable points. The McLaren junior drove a composed race and continues to build momentum heading into the second half of the season. Dunne climbs back to third in the overall standings and is now within 14 points of the championship lead. Luke Browning completed the podium after a strong drive, while Arvid Lindblad picked up eighth and claimed an extra point for setting the fastest lap. With just two rounds remaining, the title race has tightened considerably but depending on the outcome of the stewards' investigation, Silverstone's results could yet shift.
RTÉ News
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Alex Dunne rebounds at sodden Silverstone with podium finish to boost F2 title hopes
Alex Dunne bounced back from a Saturday sprint setback to boost his Formula 2 title hopes with a provisional second place finish in the British Grand Prix feature race at a rain-sodden Silverstone. Having failed to finish the sprint race the previous day following an early collision that dropped him back to fourth in the drivers' championship standings, the Offaly teenager put that in the rearview mirror with a podium finish on Sunday after taking the chequered flag second, just behind US rival Jak Crawford. However, with doubts about whether Crawford made it into the pitlane before a late Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was called, an infringement which could result in a penalty, the provisional classification could still be subsequently altered and Dunne upgraded to the top step of the podium at the American's expense. Dunne, who had qualified second on the grid for the feature race, was around 1.5 seconds behind Crawford for much of the grand prix until it entered the final ten laps and by the end of lap 21 of 29, the Irishman had closed that gap to just half a second. He then assumed the lead on lap 24 when Crawford came in for his mandatory pit stop following a VSC period - although it was unclear if the American had got to the pitlane before it was called - it ultimately was upgraded to a full safety car a lap later. Dunne came in for his mandatory pitstop shortly after, dropping behind Crawford as a result, although the 19-year-old crucially just held onto second place ahead of British driver Luke Browning. The safety car ended on lap 27 but any hopes that Dunne had of overtaking Crawford on track was ended following another safety car on the penultimate lap. However, there could still be a sting in the tail for Crawford, which would allow Dunne to claim his third F2 victory of the season after previous feature race triumphs in Bahrain and Imola. Earlier this month, Dunne . The McLaren development driver impressed on the day, setting the fourth fastest time overall, whilst sitting in for Lando Norris, who is currently second in the F1 drivers' championship.
