The first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix is in the books, with Mercedes driver George Russell topping the timing sheets ahead of Max Verstappen. But the driver that perhaps impressed the most will not be in the car for the rest of the weekend.
Alex Dunne shines in F1 practice debut at Austrian Grand Prix
McLaren development driver Alex Dunne shined during his FP1 session at the Austrian Grand Prix
Photo by James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
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That is Alex Dunne, who made his Formula 1 debut in FP1, driving for McLaren in place of Lando Norris.
Dunne finished fourth in Friday’s first practice session at Red Bull Ring, just 0.069 seconds off the pace of Oscar Piastri, who finished third. Dunne was also just 0.224 seconds behind pace-setter Russell.
His performance came just hours after leading the way in the Formula 2 practice session.
As FP1 drew to a close Dunne came on the radio to thank the team for giving him this opportunity. “I want to say a massive thank you. A little boy’s dream came true, and this is definitely the best day of my life,” said the young driver as the checkered flag flew.
He then required a quick video for McLaren, outlining how he was “[s]uper, super happy” with the session:
Dunne currently leads the F2 Drivers’ Championship with 87 points, including Feature Race wins in both Bahrain and Imola. He’ll look to build on his three-point lead over Richard Verschoor this weekend.
Norris will return to the upgraded MCL39 for FP2, which takes place later today at the Red Bull Ring.
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