Alex Dunne is set to suffer a five-place grid penalty at the next round of the F2 season after being found solely responsible for causing an accident at this morning’s season opener in Australia.
To make matters worse, the crash was with Rodin Motorsport team-mate Martinius Stenshorne at the Albert Park venue.
The duo were battling for first place after a good start but the incident took place on the second lap. The 20-year-old from Offaly had DRS enabled when he made a move after turn 14, but he was judged to have got too close to Stenshorne with contact taking place.
In a statement, F2 said: “Following the race, the Stewards heard from both drivers along with a team representative and examined available video evidence.
“They determined that Car 15 (Dunne) had been predominantly responsible for the collision. As a result, the Stewards allocated a 10-second time penalty to the Irish driver.
“In accordance with the 2026 FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations, the penalty is converted into a grid drop of five places for the next Feature Race.”
With the ongoing political situation in the middle east, it’s unclear when and where the next round will take place, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia the scheduled venues for the next two races.
It means that Dunne might end up serving the penalty at Monaco.