McLaren star defends 'clever' and 'talented' title rival

12:09, 24 Aug

Updated: 13:48, 24 Aug

byKimberley Hoefnagel

Alex Dunne feels as though Richard Verschoor deserves more recognition for his achievements in Formula 2. In an exclusive interview with GPblog, Dunne explained that having years of experience in a series, doesn’t automatically make you a better driver.

After finishing his rookie Formula 3 season in fourteenth place last year, Dunne was given the opportunity to step up to Formula 2 with Rodin for 2025. Despite some hick ups along the way, such as an unfortunate incident in Monaco earlier this year, it’s been an impressive year for the Irishman.

Dunne is currently fifth in the championship, finding himself thirty points behind championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli. But with four race weekends left in 2025, the title is still very much within reach for the Irishman. Over the course of the season, Dunne has had plenty of run ins with Richard Verschoor.

Asked how it’s been to battle the Dutchman over the course of the season, Dunne told GPblog: “I think it's been very good. I think every time I've raced against him, I've always known that it's not going to be easy. Every time if I was coming through the field and I caught Richard, I'd know that the next opportunity of me making a pass was always going to be difficult.”

The Irish driver added: “I think he’s very clever and he knows where to place the car. In terms of race pace over the years of experience, he's got a very good understanding of the tyres.”

Richard Verschoor

Experience does not equal talent

This year marks Verschoor’s fifth and final season in Formula 2, making him one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. With four weekends to go in 2025, the Dutchman is currently third in the standings, behind Fornaroli and Jak Crawford. And it’s safe to say that it’s been his competitive and consisting season in Formula 2.

Over the past few months, a lot of comments have been made online regarding Verschoor’s extensive experience in the series. Some people seem to think that the MP Motorsport driver was always going to be fast because of said experience. Dunne doesn’t agree with that narrative, explaining that having experience doesn’t automatically mean you’ll perform well.

“I always see comments on social media where people say: ‘Oh, you know, he should be fast, he's been in the championship for so long… this and that.’ I think ultimately he's still a very talented driver and regardless of whether or not you've been an F2 for one year or ten, you still have to be talented enough to do what he's doing”, Dunne explained. “So I think he owes the respect for that. I think I respect him a lot as a driver, and we have good mutual respect.”

Dunne enjoys battles with Verschoor

The McLaren junior said that he would have loved to asbolutely dominate each F2 weekend in 2025, but added that the battles with drivers such as Verschoor have made his year more enjoyable. “You learn a lot more as a driver when you have someone like him who's always pushing you to the limit.”

“I know weekend in, weekend out - if I'm not performing at my best and I make a small mistake, he's going to do everything he can to make the best of it.” And that’s exactly what the Irishman enjoys about the junior category. “The fact that there's so many drivers who are always competitive, and realistically there's no room for error. So I've enjoyed it a lot, and I think we're gonna continue pushing each other to the end.”