Teenager Alex Dunne says making his Formula 1 debut at the Austrian Grand Prix is “definitely the best day of my life”.
The 19-year-old impressed as he posted the fourth-fastest time in opening practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as he stood in for McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The Irish driver was handed the opportunity in one of McLaren’s four mandatory sessions across the season where a rookie driver will take part in first practice.
Dunne is a McLaren development driver and leads the Formula 2 standings after six rounds with two victories in Bahrain and Imola.
n taking part in first practice, Dunne became the first Irish driver to participate in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years.
He started the session off slowly, carrying an aero rake on his car as championship leaders McLaren tested updates on the MCL39.
After a stint on hard tyres, the former British F4 champion posted the fourth-fastest time after switching to the soft tyres late in the hour-long session.
His quickest time was just 0.069 seconds shy of championship leader Oscar Piastri, who was third behind George Russell and Max Verstappen.
