On Thursday afternoon, McLaren announced signing two promising Formula 3 talents, Irishman Alex Dunne and Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne, into its young driver’s program.
Alex Dunne has been on the ‘radar’ of the junior-single seaters community since his karting days and with the Irishman’s triumph in the 2022 British F4 campaign.
Norwegian Hitech’s driver impressed during his Formula Regional by Alpine reign in 2023 when he showed significant talent by outpacing ‘title favorite’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli for a good amount of the season.
Ultimately, the Australian F3 Sprint Race winner finished in the 2nd place in the overall FRECA standings.
“We’re pleased to announce that Alex and Martinius have joined our Driver Development programme.”
“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.” – stated McLaren’s director of Driver’s Development, Stephanie Carlin.
The Young Drivers project was initiated in 2022 and it actively seeks to promote young talents into Formula 1 or other categories where McLaren competes (IndyCar, Formula E).
Most recently McLaren has taken former Formula 2 stars, Callum Illot and Theo Pourchaire under its wing with the 2022 runner-up and the 2023 champion competing in the Indy Car series.
Both Dunne and Stenshorne have expressed their gratitude for joining a team historically known for promoting drivers to Formula 1. The best examples of this are Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.