The Irish Motorsports scene has been booming on and off the track in 2025, headlined by Offaly man Alex Dunne fighting for the FIA Formula 2 championship in his rookie season. But he’s not the only one flying the flag in the world of racing, so join us for a rundown of everything Ireland in motorsports over the last two weeks.
Alex Dunne
We must start with the young man that has been making the headlines all year long.
Dunne currently sits fifth in the F2 standings after a handful of tough weekends for the 19-year-old, 58 points behind championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli. F2 cars haven’t hit the track in the last fortnight – and they won’t again until the end of November! – but the Rodin racer still found himself in the headlines last week.
Dunne raced under the McLaren Development Programme since May of last year, but in a statement last Thursday, both McLaren and Dunne mutually parted ways. In his own
statement, the Offaly native thanked the McLaren team but turned his focus to the final two races of the season.
“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.
“Still two important rounds left to focus on this year, very excited for what’s to come.”
Since the announcement, speculation puts Alex Dunne in the Red Bull junior team, and potentially a Racing Bulls seat in F1, but no official confirmation of either of these rumours has been made.
Fionn McLaughlin
It’s been a busy fortnight for rising star Fionn McLaughlin. The 17-year-old from Magherafelt in Co. Derry took home the British Formula 4 championship last weekend in Brands Hatch, after a dominant rookie season.
Across the seasons 30 races at 10 different rounds, the Red Bull junior took home 14 podiums – five of which being wins – four more than the next best driver (James Piszcyk and Martin Molnár both had 10).
Just days after his championship triumph, McLaughlin and the Hitech TGR team, who he won the F4 championship with, announced that they would continue their partnership into 2026, in the FIA Formula 3 championship.
The jump means that McLaughlin will become the second Irishman in the last few years to race on a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend.
The Derry man got his campaign underway on Tuesday and Wednesday during an official F3 test at Jerez in Spain. Not quite setting a blazing pace but taking the two days on track to learn the car and build himself up for what is set to be the biggest year of his career so far.
Charlie Eastwood
Perhaps not a name everyone in the country may have heard of, but Charlie Eastwood has certainly been making waves in the world of Endurance and Sportscar racing since his days in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2016 and 2017.
Since then, he’s gone on to have a successful career in both Aston Martin and Corvette GT cars, even winning the GTE AM class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020.
Just two weeks ago, he found himself on the top step of the podium once again. Alongside his teammates Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy, he was able to qualify the No.81 TF Sport Corvette in a respectable seventh position for the WEC 6 Hours of Fuji.
They slowly creeped their way up the order, before a final push from Eastwood helped them to finish second. But a five-second penalty for the winning Ferrari team meant that the Belfast man and his crew were promoted to the win in LMGT3, first for them this season.
Just days after his win, the Ulster native was announced as a simulator driver for the Cadillac F1 team. He will be joining a crew of Pietro Fittipaldi and Simon Pagenaud, who will help with developing the newest entry on the grid.
The win in Japan puts Eastwood, Andrade and Van Rompuy in third place in the championship standings heading into the final round in Bahrain. They will need some luck on their side, but a late season push for the title is certainly possible.
James Roe Jr
The Irish are also making big moves stateside. From Naas, Co. Kildare, James Roe Jr has been competing in the Indy NXT championship (feeder series for the IndyCar series) with Andretti Global and in select races in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship in an LMP2 with Pratt Miller Motorsports.
After a respectable few seasons in the Indy NXT championship, the 27-year-old was offered an IndyCar test with Juncos Hollinger Racing, which occurred on Monday the 13th of October.
The test took place from 9am to 5pm local time, giving the seven participants eight hours of running around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. This, however, was delayed due to technical issues.
Roe himself placed at the bottom of the timing sheets with a 1:11.600, but was less than a second off Dennis Hauger, who had the quickest time.
The laps Roe completed on Monday may prove crucial for his future, as he currently has no plans for the rest of 2025, or 2026.
“Driving in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES has always been my goal, and I’m incredibly grateful to Juncos Hollinger Racing for this opportunity,” Roe said. “INDY NXT has been great preparation, and getting seat time in the LMP2 car on the IMS road course last month has only added to my confidence.”
It’s been a busy fortnight, and overall, a busy year for Irish drivers in motorsports. These four drivers barely scratch the surface of what’s been going on, with Josh McErlean in the WRC, Jon Armstrong in ERC, James Deane and the Shanahan brothers in Formula Drift, and much more. The season isn’t over either, so there is certainly plenty more to come for our home heroes.
