Alex Dunne's F1 dream alive as 2028 options emerge

Alex Dunne says his Formula 1 dreams will be kept 'alive as long as possible' as he is eyeing up opportunities for the 2028 silly season.

The Irish driver is understood to have a number of F1 possibilities on the table for the 2028 season.

This comes off the back of a particularly strong second half to his 2026 Formula 2 campaign.

Dunne's stuttering start to the 2026 Formula 2 campaign has given way to a consistently strong second half.

The Rodin Motorsport driver is a very realistic contender for the F2 title.

Whether or not the final scheduled races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi take place will decide the championship.

With 189 points, Dunne is 11 points behind Nikola Tsolov.

He is 18 points behind Rafa Camara.

The Brazilian driver has just secured his way into Formula 1 with Haas.

Camara was promoted to his 2027 seat early following the American team dropping Esteban Ocon with immediate effect after Mexico.

But with the end of the 2026 season in sight, Dunne is not a contender for a race seat in Formula 1 in 2027.

His championship rivals are in a different position.

Not only is Camara stepping up, but Tsolov appears to only have to play a waiting game to end up at Racing Bulls.

Whether that happens in 2027 or 2028 depends on whether the team opts to drop Liam Lawson.

Dunne had a tumultuous 2025.

He parted ways with the McLaren driver development programme as the Woking-based squad wished to move him out of the F1 ecosystem.

A unilateral decision by Helmut Marko to sign him to the Red Bull programme was overruled by his bosses due to the political situation within the organisation 12 months ago.

The Irish driver was snapped up by the Alpine programme.

But he has conspicuously not appeared in an F1 car this season.

Having carried out multiple TPC and FP1 outings with McLaren in 2025, no such opportunities have been forthcoming with the Enstone-based squad.

Instead, Alpine has turned to Gabriele Mini for its mandatory rookie running.

The Italian has also carried out multiple TPC outings this year.

Mini now appears to be a shoo-in for the reserve role at Alpine next year.

Sources have indicated that Dunne is set to part ways with the French squad's programme.

There is no obvious path forward within the organisation due to the contracts in place with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

Dunne is understood to have also had exploratory talks with Cadillac.

The American squad is weighing up its options for the seat currently occupied by Valtteri Bottas.

But the squad is eager to sign an American driver.

The prospects of Colton Herta and Ugo Ugochukwu are such that the talks did not advance.

However, unlike the situation that held him back from any serious F1 discussions last year, Dunne's performance in Formula 2 this year means he now has the points required for the mandatory FIA Super Licence needed for Formula 1.

Dunne's desire to remain close to F1 has been noted by several outfits.

The Irish driver is now understood to be viewed as a serious prospect for a seat when existing contracts come to a close.

At least three midfield teams are understood to have presented Dunne with opportunities to arrive on the grid in 2028.

An eye to carrying out an intensive testing programme through 2027 is part of the plan.

While Dunne will not continue in Formula 2 in 2027, regardless of whether he wins the title or not this season, his prospects for continuing in a high-profile racing series are likely to see him plump for an opportunity in the United States.

He is not heading to a series such as Super Formula.

Dunne's recent test in Alabama with Dale Coyne Racing is said to have impressed the team.

The Irish driver was fastest during the morning session before his best time was beaten by Hunter McElrea in the afternoon session with better track conditions.

The likely scenario at present means that Dunne is likely to take up this opportunity for a racing programme in the American series.

He would dovetail with testing duties with an F1 team with an eye towards development for 2028.

Dunne was recently asked by PlanetF1.com about whether he has found it frustrating that while his F2 rivals have uncovered opportunities in Formula 1, he is the front-running name not to have had similar opportunities.

'I think the difficult thing is, I think to be an F1 driver to have an F1 seat, nine times out of 10, the contracts and those sorts of things are usually well wrapped up at this point of the year, where we are quite late into the season,' he said off the back of his Baku feature race victory.