2023 GB3 Championship runner-up Alex Dunne has been signed up to the McLaren Driver Development Programme.
The Irish racer, who won five races in GB3 last season, has since graduated to the FIA Formula 3 Championship with MP Motorsport.
The 18-year-old from Offaly took the GB3 title fight all the way to the wire in October last year, having dominated the British F4 Championship the year before.
Dunne then impressed at last year’s Macau Grand Prix, earning a stunning podium finish in the qualification race, and has scored points in FIA F3 already this year upon his graduation.
Alex’s involvement in the McLaren Driver Development programme will see him join the team’s talent pipeline, which has an overarching aim to help drivers progress towards Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E. Established in 2022, following the team’s long history of developing talent in motorsport. The programme is led by F1 Business Operations Director Stephanie Carlin.
Current GB3 contender Ugo Ugochukwu is another driver with backing from the McLaren Driver Development Programme, while one-off GB3 entrant Martinus Stenshorne has also been recruited into the programme alongside Dunne.
"It’s an honour to join the McLaren Driver Development programme and I’m looking forward to getting started with the team,” said Dunne. “McLaren provides the perfect environment for me to develop my skillset as I continue my journey in motorsport. I’m grateful for Zak [Brown] and Stephanie’s support and I’m excited to meet the rest of the team at MTC.”
"We’re pleased to announce that Alex and Martinius have joined our Driver Development programme,” Carlin said. “They are both exciting and promising young talents within motorsport, with proven records on track in their respective junior categories including this season’s FIA Formula 3 Championship.
"The entire team is looking forward to welcoming Alex and Martinius to the McLaren family and we’ll be working closely to support their development within our talent pipeline."
Dunne follows in the footsteps of 2021 and 2022 champions Zak O'Sullivan and Luke Browning in being signed up to a development programme within 12 months of graduating from GB3.