dunne

Ireland’s Alex Dunne has left McLaren’s driver development programme with immediate effect, saying he is “very excited for what’s to come”.

Formula 2 race winner Dunne impressed on his Formula 1 debut in Austria in June when he finished fourth in opening practice, just 0.069 seconds behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.

By driving at the Austrian Grand Prix, he became the first Irish driver to participate in a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years.

Dunne, who joined the team as development driver in May 2024, also took part in first practice at the Italian Grand Prix in September, and McLaren said it had been a “pleasure” to work with the 19-year-old.

Posting on social, Dunne said he was “very excited for what’s to come”, with an ‘eye’ emoji.

“From today I’ve mutually decided to part ways with the McLaren driver development programme,” he said.

“I’d like to thank every individual at McLaren that has helped me develop and improve as a driver, to have my first opportunity to drive an F1 car followed by two FP1 sessions is something I’ll always hold very close to my heart, I wish them all the best for the future. Thank you papaya family.”

Dunne has won two feature races in his rookie F2 campaign, in Bahrain and Imola, but has dropped out of title contention after a number of technical infringements and collisions.

The final two rounds of the F2 season take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Alex over the last year and to contribute to his growth as a driver,” McLaren said.

“We wish Alex all the best for his career going forward.”

Championship leaders McLaren have no race seats available for 2026 with title contenders Piastri and Lando Norris both under contract.

Red Bull have yet to confirm who will partner Max Verstappen or take either Racing Bulls seat, while Alpine are yet to name who will race alongside Pierre Gasly in 2026.

Gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne was all set to buy her first home. And it wasn’t just any home.

Dunne had a contract in place to buy a $1.6-million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

But it ended up not being a Dunne deal.

The recent Louisiana State graduate known to her fans as “Livvy” won’t be moving into the former digs of the player known to fans as “the Bambino,” because the building’s co-op board rejected her application.

In a video posted to TikTok on Tuesday, Dunne told her 8 million followers that she is “so upset” after coming so close to residing in the same seventh-floor apartment where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox legend is said to have lived from 1929 to 1940.

“It was Babe Ruth’s apartment,” said Dunne, who grew up less than an hour away in Hillside, N.J. “So naturally, like, I’m telling everybody. I’m excited. I was gonna buy it and I was gonna pay with cash, like I wanted this apartment bad.”

The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model said her real estate agent “was so confident” the deal would go through that she brought boyfriend Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ All-Star pitcher and 2024 National League rookie of the year, to see the place.

“I got an interior designer because I didn’t want to bring my college furniture to Babe Ruth’s apartment — that would be like, criminal,” Dunne said. “Then the week that I’m supposed to get my keys to my brand new apartment, I get a call. The co-op board denied me.”

The listing agent confirmed to The Times that Dunne had made an offer on the property that was accepted by the seller and, as the final step in the process, turned in an application for the purchase for the co-op board’s approval. The board rejected that application about three weeks ago, the agent said.

No explanation was given for the rejection, although Dunne has her theories.

“For all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU,” she joked. “I have no clue. Maybe they didn’t want a public figure living there. But I was literally supposed to get the keys, and that week they denied me.”

She added: “Long story short, don’t try to live in a co-op. You might get denied and you won’t get Babe Ruth’s apartment.”