Three F1 Teams Chase Alex Dunne for a 2028 Seat

Alex Dunne is keeping his Formula 1 dream alive with 2028 opportunities emerging.

Three midfield teams have presented the Irish driver with a path to the grid that season.

Dunne is understood to have a number of F1 possibilities on the table for the 2028 silly season.

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

Dunne drives for Rodin Motorsport in F2.

He has scored 189 points this season.

That puts him 11 points behind championship leader Nikola Tsolov.

He is 18 points behind Rafa Camara.

Camara has just secured his way into Formula 1 with Haas.

The Brazilian driver was promoted to his 2027 seat early after Haas dropped Esteban Ocon with immediate effect following the Mexico Grand Prix.

Dunne is not a contender for a race seat in F1 in 2027.

His championship rivals are in a different position.

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’s path to F1 has been anything but straightforward.

He had a tumultuous 2025.

He parted ways with the McLaren driver development programme.

McLaren wanted to move him out of the F1 ecosystem.

Then Helmut Marko made a unilateral decision to sign him to the Red Bull programme.

That decision was overruled by Marko’s bosses due to the political situation within the organisation 12 months ago.

Dunne was snapped up by the Alpine programme.

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

He carried out multiple TPC and FP1 outings with McLaren in 2025.

No such opportunities have been forthcoming with the Enstone-based squad.

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

Mini 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.

Cadillac is eager to sign an American driver.

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

One key factor has changed for Dunne this year.

Unlike the situation that held him back from any serious F1 discussions last year, his performance in F2 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.

Those teams have an eye on carrying out an intensive testing programme through 2027.

Dunne will not continue in Formula 2 in 2027.

That is the case 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.

That would be instead of heading to a series such as Super Formula.

Dunne recently tested in Alabama with Dale Coyne Racing.

He is said to have impressed the team.

He was fastest during the morning session.

His best time was beaten by Hunter McElrea in the afternoon session with better track conditions.

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