McLaren have announced two current Formula 3 drivers have joined their driver development programme.
Martinius Stenshorne and Alex Dunne have joined McLaren as juniors, both as active competitors in the F3 championship.
Stenshorne finished runner-up to Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli in last year’s Formula Regional European Championship and is racing in his first F3 season this year with Hitech. He currently sits 13th in the championship, having scored all 10 points with his victory in the sprint race in Melbourne.
Dunne is 17th in the F3 standings after the first two rounds of the season having scored points in two of the opening four races. After winning the British F4 title in 2022, Dunne was runner-up in last year’s GB3 championship.
McLaren’s director of F1 business operations, Stephanie Carlin, said that both were “exciting and promising young talents” who had “proven records on track” throughout their junior careers.
“The entire team is looking forward to welcoming Alex and Martinius to the McLaren family and we’ll be working closely to support their development within our talent pipeline,” Carlin said.
Stenshorne and Dunne join McLaren’s junior roster which includes IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward and World Endurance Champion Ryo Hirakawa. Reigning F3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto is also a McLaren junior currently competing in F2, with 17-year-old Ugo Uguochukwu the team’s youngest prospect racing in the FREC.
F1 Academy racer Bianca Bustamante also joined the programme towards the end of last year and competes in McLaren colours in this year’s championship. Brando Badoer, the son of former Formula 1 driver Luca Badoer, is under consideration for a place on the programme.
Former McLaren junior Lando Norris scored his maiden grand prix victory in the last Formula 1 round in Miami, ending a win drought of over 100 races. It was McLaren’s second grand prix win in the last decade following on from Daniel Ricciardo’s triumph in the Italian Grand Prix of 2021.
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