F3 drivers signed to McLaren's driver development programme
F1 News
McLaren have announced they have signed two promising Formula 3 drivers to their driver development programme, Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne. Both currently compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, Dunne with MP Motorsport and Stenshorne with Hitech Pulse-Eight.
Who are they?
Alex Dunne is a promising young racer having secured the 2022 British F4 Championship title with Hitech Grand Prix. The 18-year-old from Offaly, Ireland finished as vice-champion in both the 2022 Italian F4 Championship and the 2023 GB3 Championship. This notable form led to a drive with Hitech Pulse-Eight in the Macau Grand Prix, where he qualified sixth on his street circuit debut before finishing second in the qualifying race.
On his signing, Dunne said "It’s an honour to join the McLaren Driver Development programme and I’m looking forward to getting started with the team. 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 [Carlin] support and I’m excited to meet the rest of the team at MTC."
Martinius Stenshorne has also impressed on track in his junior career. Born into a rallying family, he started racing at age of four. Stenshorne secured multiple international karting championships before moving to Formula 4, where he scored three podiums across the UAE, German and Italian Championships. In 2023, the 18-year-old Norwegian driver competed in the Formula Regional European Championship, where he became the first rookie to win their debut race while finishing as vice-champion of the series with four further wins to his name.
Stenshorne said "I’m incredibly excited to join the McLaren Driver Development programme, it’s an honour to now be part of the McLaren family. The team has a great history of developing talent, so I’m looking forward to growing with the team and learning from their expertise as I continue on my journey towards the top of motorsport. Thank you to Zak, Stephanie, and the entire team for their faith in me, I can’t wait to get started."
The pair have started their respective seasons strongly with Martinius securing a Sprint Race win in Australia and Alex scoring his first points in his second race at the Bahrain International Circuit. They will both return to the track at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Alongside the pair in McLaren's driver development programme is IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward, F2 driver Gabriel Borteleto, and F1 Academy driver Bianca Bustamante. Formula 1's newest race winner Lando Norris is also a graduate of the team's driver development programme.