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McLaren’s Big Blunder? Dunne Leaves, Red Bull Looms

‘Huge mistake’: Daly blasts McLaren as Red Bull circles Alex Dunne

McLaren’s junior roster has lost one of its liveliest prospects — and the timing has Red Bull sniffing around. Alex Dunne, fresh from FP1 cameos in Austria and Monza last season, has split from McLaren’s Driver Development programme, and the paddock suspect this story’s only just getting started.

Dunne announced the parting on social media, calling it a mutual decision and thanking McLaren for the chance to sample F1 machinery. Behind the politeness, there were signs of friction. Plans for further FP1 outings and a post-season rookie test were understood to be on the table; a disagreement over the route to an F1 seat wasn’t.

Enter Derek Daly, never shy of a verdict. The former F1 driver told RacingNews365 he believes McLaren “dropped the ball” by letting the 19-year-old go.

“Alex Dunne, I know, has the utmost confidence and faith in his own driving abilities,” Daly said. “He’s prepared to jump in if a seat is presented to him. Red Bull has to be cognizant of the fact of ‘let’s make sure we don’t make another mistake and throw drivers in and out’. The great thing is that Red Bull recognises there’s a fast, aggressive Red Bull-type of driver. He’s now become available on the market, which I think was a huge mistake by McLaren.”

McLaren won’t be thrilled with that appraisal, but the optics don’t help. Within 24 hours of the split, Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Helmut Marko confirmed they’d spoken to Dunne — more an introduction than a negotiation, but enough to sharpen interest around the Racing Bulls garage.

“We’re in discussions now that he’s free,” Marko told Sky Deutschland. “He’s very aggressive, quick, and has strong car control. He’s still making plenty of mistakes at the moment – but he’s very much like a Red Bull driver.”

That line — “very much like a Red Bull driver” — will perk ears in Faenza. The second Red Bull team has long been the finishing school for hard-edged talent, and Dunne’s driving profile ticks the usual boxes: pace, punch, a little rawness, and a willingness to send it. There’s no deal in place yet, but Marko doesn’t hide it when he likes someone.

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All of this, of course, is academic without a super licence. Dunne needs to clear the 40-point threshold to be eligible for an F1 race seat. The quickest route is to finish at least third in this year’s Formula 2 championship; as it stands, he’s fifth on 130 points, 31 shy of P3, with two rounds remaining. That’s a late climb, but late climbs are how racing reputations are made.

The broader question: why did McLaren let this get messy? The team had given Dunne meaningful mileage in the MCL39 and, by all accounts, had mapped out more. If philosophy was the fork in the road — how quickly to promote, how to structure his step to the big show — then you can see both sides. McLaren’s senior seats are firmly held and its pipeline is busy. Red Bull, by contrast, lives on churn and opportunity. If you back yourself to break through in an aggressive system, the decision starts to make sense.

Daly, predictably, sees it as a huge swing for Red Bull to take — and a bigger risk for McLaren to have passed on. “I think Red Bull is going to try and grab him to give him a chance to develop into what he can be. It’s the best scenario for Alex,” he said. “But I can’t believe that McLaren let him go. Somebody, someday, will have to answer that question.”

That “someday” may come quickly if Dunne nails the end of his F2 season. A late charge to third would straighten the super-licence maths and put pressure on any team that’s been watching from afar. Miss out, and it’s a longer, bumpier route via more junior miles — not a deal-breaker, but not the fairy-tale either.

For now, everyone’s playing it cool. McLaren has moved on. Red Bull says talks are only exploratory. Dunne keeps his head down and chases points. The rest of us will keep an eye on the timing screens and the Faenza doorway. In this game, talent and timing usually meet — and when they do, someone ends up explaining why they let the other guy get there first.

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