"Not the level I hold myself to" - the three words that changed F2's Alex Dunne in Bahrain

JEDDAH–Alex Dunne turned around his fortunes overnight at the Bahrain Grand Prix and proved his mental strength as he ramps up his FIA Formula 2 campaign.

"This guy is always going to divebomb me," was the reaction from other drivers on the F2 grid after Dunne made aggressive attempts at a podium finish in the sprint race at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Rodin driver eventually finished 19th after damage to his front wing, as well as two five-second penalties, one for contact with Ritomo Miyata, and another for travelling too quickly behind the safety car.

But the Irishman turned around his fortunes for the feature race on Sunday and was open about the change in his mentality.

"I went back to my hotel room, looked in the mirror, and said "Alex, chill out."'

"I think it was just one of those races where I think I had made some really good moves, and I was kind of on a roll, and I think I was constantly moving forward."

"After that second safety car restart, when it all bunched up again, I just kind of tried to do too much in one go. I should have just been patient and waited, and you know, if I ended up finishing P4 then great.

"But instead, trying to finish P3 instead of P4, I ended up finishing outside the points, with a broken front wing."

It's revealing that a 19-year-old could be so mature in recognising the impact of his emotions, and even more so that he was able to take action and achieve victory with his improved mindset.

"It was just one of those things where I should have been a bit more patient, but it's something I've definitely learned from, and I'll make sure it won't happen again."

"I knew straight away even when I was already in the middle of the braking zone, when I went for the overtake, I knew it was the wrong choice, but it was too late at that point, so I kind of had to commit. But I knew straight away that it wasn't the right thing."

"It was just one of those things where it was a downward spiral after a move that wasn't necessarily the best idea, so I'm glad that I picked it back up," said the Irishman.

It was an emotional race for Dunne, who took the first win at the Formula 2 level for an Irishman since 1979.

"I think to be an Irish driver at this level, representing McLaren is something that's pretty special for me, and, you know, not only me, but also for my whole family as well.

"Realistically, towards the end of my karting career, I never really expected to get this far. I think there was a couple of times where we were very close to stopping it all because financially, we were struggling. So to have so much support from home and from McLaren and the people around me who have pushed me to get to where I am is a very big thing. And yeah, I couldn't be happier to be honest.

"To be representing Ireland at this level, and not only that, but to be racing at the front as well, is quite a special thing. And you know, I can also feel the support from McLaren as well. Especially this year, they've really been pushing me on and trying to help me in the best way they can. They've really opened up the doors a lot more to me to try and help me develop and perform better as a driver. And I think that seems to be working so far."

The link with McLaren is an interesting one, with the team developing their junior program despite having relatively young drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both on multi-year deals with the Formula 1 team.

Dunne cemented his place on the top of the relative standings in the McLaren junior ranks with his victory, but any further role with the team led to a slightly coy response, even when asked about young driver testing or driving a previous year's car.

"I don't know how much I can say. I have to wait and see.

"Naturally, motorsport is a performance led thing, and I think if I keep on going in the direction we're going at the moment, then I don't see why the chance of driving a Formula 1 car isn't possible.

"I'm the only driver, obviously, in F2 as a part of McLaren. So that will be something hopefully in my favour. And I think if I just keep on focusing on myself, there's no point in me thinking about Formula 1 right now.

"I'm not a Formula One driver. Relatively, you could say I'm close, but realistically, I'm not even close to F1 yet. So, I think there's no point in me thinking about F1. I just focus on what I can do in F2 and if I keep on performing at a high level, then hopefully the opportunity will arise."

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