Former McLaren junior Alex Dunne looks set to sign for rivals Alpine after the Irishman was spotted driving a car bearing the team’s eye-catching pink colours. Dunne is taking part in pre-season testing this week ahead of the new Formula 2 campaign, which is taking place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya while Formula 1 has pitched up in Bahrain.

And photos from the on-track action in Spain have shown Dunne behind the wheel of an all-pink Rodin Motorsport car bearing the logo of Alpine’s title sponsor BWT. It is understood, however, that a deal for the 20-year-old to join Alpine’s driver development programme has yet to be finalised.

A spokesperson confirmed that Dunne is testing in Alpine colours this week, but added there is “nothing official” to announce regarding his affiliation with “discussions ongoing”. Sources suggest, though, that the Irishman is close to finalising a move to the Enstone-based outfit following his McLaren departure last year and the subsequent collapse of his switch to Red Bull.

McLaren very suddenly confirmed last October that Dunne, who was at the time in contention for the F2 title in his debut season in the category, had left their programme. No official reason was given, though it was reported that Dunne was weighing up a switch to Red Bull having been courted by Helmut Marko.

But while a Red Bull move looked inevitable following his McLaren exit, Marko’s departure at the end of the year seemed to scupper Dunne’s chances of joining their academy. It was claimed that Marko had already offered a contract to Dunne, which was signed, but without the consent of Red Bull’s Austria-based leadership – forcing the team to pay the Irishman a six-figure sum in compensation for backing out of the deal.

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It wasn’t long, though, before it emerged that Alpine were considering a swoop for Dunne, who was now a free agent. He is not eligible to be a reserve driver as he has yet to secure enough points for the superlicence required to race in F1 but, nevertheless, he looks set to join their programme in the coming weeks.

The fact Alpine have gone to the trouble of dictating that his Rodin Motorsport F2 car should carry their branding suggests the team is very confident that the deal will get over the line. Should it do so, Dunne will join reserve driver Paul Aron and academy member Kush Maini within the Alpine setup.

Dunne will be targeting the F2 title this year, his challenge having faded in 2025 when the crown was taken by Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli. Dunne was seventh on the timesheets at the end of the first day of pre-season testing on Tuesday, with Mexico’s Noel Leon with Argentine Nicolas Varrone second and new Mercedes development driver Joshua Duerksen of Paraguay in third.