McLaren protege Alex Dunne has driven an F1 car for the first time during TPC running at Zandvoort.
Irishman Dunne was promoted into FIA F2 at the start of 2025, winning the Bahrain feature race, the first of the season after the cancellation of that round in the Australian GP weekend due to rain.
In 2022, Dunne won the British F4 championship, seven years after senior McLaren driver Lando Norris, who will be out on track at the Dutch GP host venue on Thursday, along with world-championship leader Oscar Piastri.
He joined the McLaren junior programme in mid-2024 and is reserve and development driver for the team's Formula E programme.
McLaren is using the first car available to it under the TPC regulations, which dictate a car must be at least two years old to qualify, meaning the 2023 MCL60 machine is in action.
With this, Norris and Piastri used the upgrades delivered at the Austrian GP to leapfrog from midfield runners to podium contenders, with Piastri winning the Qatar Sprint, although no grands prix were won.
Also at Zandvoort for testing has been Franco Colapinto for Alpine, although this was already scheduled before news that he would be replacing Jack Doohan for the next five races - until the Austrian GP - was announced.
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