Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne, both McLaren juniors.
New McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne has been disqualified from Formula 3 qualifying at Imola after a technical infringement on Friday.
After inspecting the 18-year-old’s car, it was discovered that the front of his MP Motorsport car had rear anti-roll bars installed. As a result, the driver was disqualified from the session.
McLaren junior removed from F3 qualifying in technical breach
Dunne’s disqualification resulted from a violation of Article 1.4 of the F3 Technical Regulations, which strictly prohibits any unauthorized modifications to the Dallara chassis used in the series. Despite the team’s claim that the altered part did not enhance performance, it still led to their disqualification.
Instead of starting from the Sprint pole as originally planned, the 18-year-old Irish driver will now be positioned at the back of the grid in both Formula 3 races. This is a consequence of a technical infringement. The stewards convened with MP Motorsport representatives instead of directly discussing the matter with Dunne to determine his fate in this situation.
This news follows the story in which fellow new McLaren junior, Martinius Stenshorne, also 18, was suspended from the upcoming Formula 3 round at Silverstone in July after testing in the rival GB3 Championship round at the circuit without prior approval.
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The FIA concluded that Stenshorne would gain an “unfair advantage” due to his recent testing at Silverstone in similar machinery. This would provide him with valuable experience of the circuit, putting him ahead of most of his competitors who had yet to drive on it.
After showcasing their exceptional skills in their respective junior careers, Dunne and Stenshorne have recently been declared as members of McLaren’s Driver Development program.
During a recent episode of Formula 1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Zak Brown hinted at the upcoming arrival of new talents. McLaren aims to nurture these talents through their Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, and Extreme E teams, in addition to their sportscar endeavors.
He stated, “I need to be cautious with my words since I have two drivers in the program, and I can’t recall if we have officially announced them or not!”
We currently have a few drivers affiliated with the team who are competing in various junior categories.
“It’s fantastic and highly significant that we discovered Lando at a young age. As for Oscar, he emerged from a different racing academy, namely Renault/Alpine, which further proves the effectiveness of these development programs.”
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