Alex Dunne has explained why he chose to quit the McLaren Driver Development programme, the Formula 2 star describing it as the “right decision”.

The Irish youngster took fifth place in the F2 standings with Rodin Motorsport, with two race wins in the process, under the wing of the Woking-based squad.

Dunne’s performances enabled him to be handed the chance to get behind the wheel of its title-winning MCL39 on Formula 1 race weekends, driving in FP1 in both Austria and Italy.

But sensationally, the 20-year-old left the programme in October, as rumours swelled of a potential switch to rivals Red Bull.

It has since been alleged that now-retired Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko made an arbitrary decision to sign Dunne, which was ultimately rejected.

But whilst no move to Milton Keynes, or any other team’s academy programme, has been forthcoming, Dunne is confident that he is in the best possible position to reach F1.

“For me, there’s a goal and a plan in place and that’s to be a Formula 1 driver,” he told balls.ie. 

Alex Dunne showed his pace in the McLaren MCL39 at both the Red Bull Ring and at Monza

“From the options that I knew I had, the decision we made was one that had to be made to be in F1.

“I think it’s as simple as that, it was actually my decision. When my dad and I were talking about it, he wasn’t 100% sure. Normally, he’s the one who is 100% sure!

“For me, I felt like it was the right decision. I’m more than comfortable with that. I think, moving forward, we should be in an alright place.”

Dunne will continue with Rodin Motorsport for the 2026 F2 season, which kicks off, along with F1, in Melbourne on the weekend of 6-8 March.

There have been as of yet unconfirmed reports of talks between Dunne and Alpine, with Dunne’s F2 rivals Leonardo Fornaroli and Richard Verschoor joining the McLaren programme.

READ MORE – Ex-McLaren junior Alex Dunne in talks with Alpine for 2026 F1 role