McLaren have opted to make a change at the Austrian Grand Prix with Alex Dunne replacing Lando Norris in FP1. The Irish racer is currently the Formula Two championship leader with two feature race victories under his belt already. This decision follows Ferrari’s announcement that Dino Beganovic will replace Charles Leclerc in FP1 for the second time this season.

The Swedish starlet already donned the scarlet red overalls at the Bahrain Grand Prix, impressing Fred Vasseur with the work he did behind the wheel. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to drive during FP1 in Austria,” Dunne said as the news was announced on Monday. “I’m really looking forward to getting laps in behind the wheel of the MCL39 and supporting the team with the setup for the race weekend ahead.

“I’ve been preparing well for the sessions, taking part in Testing of Previous Cars tests in the MCL60 and spending time on the simulator, which has been a fantastic learning experience.

“Thank you to Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella] and Alessandro [Alunni Bravi] for their faith in me. It’s a great step within my development with the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and I’m really excited to join the team trackside.”

“It’s great to be able to give Alex the opportunity to run in Free Practice One, and for him to get valuable time behind the wheel of a Formula One car as part of his development,” team principal Stella added.

“The team are pleased to be working with him more closely, and for his support across the weekend, where he will be providing useful feedback to help with the car’s set-up. The rookie sessions are fantastic for seeing the talent of tomorrow and enabling that rare chance to get time in a current car, so we look forward to seeing him on track.”

With Dunne behind the wheel, Norris will miss out on a practice session as he looks to rescue his title challenge. The six-time Grand Prix winner crashed into the back of team-mate Oscar Piastri during the closing stages of the race in Canada, resulting in a DNF and a significant point swing in favour of the Australian.

Piastri now travels to Spielberg with a 22-point advantage over Norris in second place, while third-placed Max Verstappen closed to within 21 points of the Bristol-born racer with a second-place finish behind race-winner George Russell.