Irish teen Alex Dunne wants to be Formula One’s next big star and the talented youngster believes he will make it to the pinnacle of the sport.
The 16-year-old is seen as one of the promising prospects in motor racing after triumphing at every age group and level since he began competing at just nine.
Alex dominated and claimed two wins and a second place finish at the start of the British Formula 4 season last week in Donington Park in England.
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The Co Offaly youngster, whose idol is Aryton Senna and who is now used to reaching speeds of up to 240kmh, told the Irish Mirror: “I’ve been racing since I was nine.
“My dad [Noel] was a racing driver for many years and ever since a young age, four or five, I would always go racing and watching my dad.
“He kind of introduced me to it and that’s how I started.
“The goal we’re working towards is definitely Formula One, we’ve achieved quite a lot, especially from where we’ve came from.
“So far it’s went very well and we’ve definitey exceeded our expectations.”
During his initial racing years, Alex regularly travelled over at weekends to the UK and he progressed to the highest karting levels of karting.
The highly-rated driver has had wins in the Irish and British karting championships and he finished 11th in the world karting championship.
Last year, Alex had five wins in the German F4 series with the US Racing team co-owned by Ralf Schuamacher, the brother of seven time world champion Michael.
Alex’s dad Noel last year estimated that they had invested between €400,000 and €500,000 on his career.
The talented teen said: “I used to go to Newbridge College and then after my first year of secondary school we decided to be homeschooled because it was just much easier to fit the racing in.”
Alex progressed from karts to racing cars last year as a KCMG junior in Spanish F4 and the Formula 4 championship racers look like miniature Formula One cars.
He is one of 16 drivers taking part in the British F4 and he is also competing in the Italian F4 championship this season.
Alex -who was named Motorsport Ireland’s young driver of the year -and started this season with Hitech in F4 United Arab Emirates, winning twice and coming sixth on points.
The highly-motivated teen said: “The downside is how hard it is financially.
“With my family we’re not a blank cheque, we don’t have a whole lot of money but we have a lot of great sponsors like the Harris Group, Artisan, VTL, Reynolds Logistics, PDS, Naas Court Hotel.
“They are all really pushing me and helping me and without them it wouldn’t be possible.”
Dad Noel, a tradesman, estimates Alex’s F4 rivals - including the sons of numerous Formula One stars - are all spending between €600,000 to €700,000 per season to compete.
He said: “Wherever you go, Alex would be known by most teams and most people around Europe for his ability.
“The guys we’re racing against who Alex has beaten they would probably have €5 million or €6 million behind them [as they progress] in the next few years.
“It’s just very hard.”
Noel said: “Every other country in Europe has this big scholarship thing where they have private investors and they bring young guys forward but even though Motorsport Ireland are helping us out, but it’s still very hard to get those guys who have millions to help us out and say, ‘This kid he’s flying the flag well, let's give him a hand’.
“In a lot of different countries you’ve also got racing academies or schools where the kids go to school and their racing is funded.”
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