Alexander Dunne: "I'll leave nothing on the table" in pursuit of Formula 2 title

Alexander Dunne returned to the Formula 2 podium in Madrid, securing second place in the Feature Race for Rodin Motorsport and ending his wait for a top-three finish since Barcelona’s Feature Race.

“I feel good, I’m very happy,” Dunne said. “I’m not normally this happy to finish second, so I’ll take it while it lasts. I think it was a good weekend. Qualifying was strong, race pace was very strong.”

Dino Beganovic ultimately converted his pace into victory, as detailed in our report on Beganovic’s dominant Madrid Feature Race win. Dunne felt the pair had established a clear advantage over the rest of the field.

“I think he and I were probably quite a bit quicker than the rest of the grid, so I think in general the pace and that sort of thing was really strong,” he added.

Strategy call pays off

The race was shaped by an early Safety Car, which left teams divided over when to complete their mandatory pit stop. Dunne initially preferred to stop at the first opportunity and even made that clear over the radio. Rodin instead kept him on track, allowing him to extend his Soft tyres and wait for a second Safety Car period.

That decision proved decisive. Dunne and Beganovic were able to pit without surrendering track position, while drivers who stopped earlier were forced to react to the evolving race and lost out as a result.

“Ultimately, we made the right decision. I managed the Soft tyre as well, I was able to extend quite long and we got the chance to wait for that second Safety Car,” Dunne explained.

He noted that Rafael Villagómez and Martinius Stenshorne had needed to pit earlier to cover rivals, a choice that ultimately damaged their races. Dunne considered following them into the pit lane but was relieved to stay out.

Championship ambition remains

Madrid also strengthened Dunne’s title challenge. He remains fourth in the standings, 38 points behind leader Nikola Tsolov, but the Irishman took a significant step towards the championship battle.

Baku is next, with the supersized Round 12 offering an additional Qualifying session and Feature Race—and therefore more opportunities to score. Dunne’s target is clear: reach the top three in the championship.

“As a driver, I’m going to leave nothing on the table, leave it all out there,” he said. “I think we should end up in a good place.”