Watch Alex Dunne cause a 11-car pile-up at Monaco GP

May 27, 2025

Alex Dunne has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for his role in the 11-car pile-up at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Irish F2 driver was at fault for causing a red flag incident in Monte Carlo following a collision at the first turn.

Dunne, who was in pole position, almost immediately collided with Victor Martins. The ART Grand Prix driver got off to a better start and nudged ahead coming into the first sharp bend.

As Martin attempted to overtake Dunne, the Rodin Motorsport driver pinned him into the barrier, causing a big pile-up.

In total, 11 cars were affected, and the race was delayed for 50 minutes while they cleared the tracks.

Dunne was one of seven racers who were removed from the race, including Martins, Richard Verschoor, Gabriele Mini, Ritoma Miyata, Josep Maria Marti and Max Esterson.

ALL the angles of Formula 2’s turn one crash #F2 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/8QHnox3ZTO

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) May 25, 2025

Alex Dunne facing penalty in Spain

Eventually Jak Crawford won the race, but Dunne’s disappointment will carry over to Barcelona following a penalty.

Dunne was initially served a drive-through penalty, but having been unable to finish the race, his penalty has been converted into a 10-place grid drop.

He has also been assigned three penalty points, which could have a big impact on his standings with 11 races left on the racing calendar.

The 19-year-old from Offaly pulled off a hugely impressive victory at Imola last week to move six points clear of Luke Browning.

He’s now three points behind in second but three ahead of Italian Leonardo Fornaroli.

Dunne’s career so far

Dunne started his career in single-seat racing in the Spanish F4, alongside a partial campaign in ADAC Formula 4.

Having achieved three poles and three fastest laps, he moved to British, UAE and Italian F4 in 2022.

Dunne dominantly won the British F4 championship with 11 wins and finished second during the Italian season.

In 2023 he raced in GB3, aimed at young drivers moving up from Formula 4, where he finished runner-up.

Last year, he moved up to FIA Formula 3 with MP Motorsport, becoming a McLaren Driver Development Programme Member in the process.

There’s still a long way to go if Dunne has ambitions to race in Formula 1, but he’s certainly on the right track. If he’s still leading the pack at the end of the season, it will certainly have constructors taking notice.

There have only been five Irish F1 drivers in the history of the sport, with two securing at least a point. Ralph Firman was the last in 2003 when he earned a point in Spain.

The most notable was Derek Daly, who raced between 1978 and 1982. He earned 15 points across that period, with the highlight being a fourth-placed finish.