Speaking to Speedcafe, Daly said he believed Dunne could change that trajectory, adding he sees genuine promise in Dunne’s ability and racecraft and expects the Alpine junior to push his way towards F1 in the coming years.
“Well, we’ve had a drought,” he said.
“Ireland is a very small country. I think we only have three million people. It’s small. We do need more.
“We do have a good one on the way up. Alex Dunne is really very talented.”
Daly said he met Dunne for the first time when the current Alpine Academy driver was just 12 years old at a driver development seminar at Mondello Park, a connection that later became more personal given his own history with Dunne’s family in Irish grassroots motorsport.
“I raced against his granddad, Matt Dunne, in demolition derby stock cars when I was 16,” he explained.
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“So that was a weird connection.”
Dunne, who previously raced under McLaren’s driver development program before moving to Alpine ahead of the 2026 season, has steadily built his reputation through Formula 2, including multiple wins and podiums since stepping up from Formula 3 in 2025.
He also made two F1 FP1 appearances for McLaren at Austria and Italy.
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His rise has been closely followed in Ireland, with Daly noting the growing national pride around his progress.
“Two years ago I did an interview with him at Mondello Park, I would say 50 percent of everybody there at the track that day were wearing McLaren papaya,” Daly said.
“Last Sunday I did another event and he was there during my book signing, and half the place now had Alpine shirts on.
“So there is a lot of support for him.”
Daly believes Dunne’s emergence could have a unifying impact on Irish motorsport fans if he reaches Formula 1, pointing to the level of support already building around him.
“The town that he comes from, I can’t even pronounce it because I’ve never heard of it, it’s that small in the midlands of Ireland,” he said.
“They have a sign up ‘home of Alex Dunne’. He hasn’t even made it yet, but you see the local pride in this town. But it’s now transferred to national pride.
“National pride is huge, particularly in Formula 1. He will unite our country if he gets into Formula 1 and starts to be a front runner.
“Just like Piastri has united Australian fans to get behind him, because they follow everything he does.
“Sport is the great unifier, and I just love to see it from a little small country like ours here.”
Dunne’s 2025 Formula 2 campaign delivered two victories and a string of strong results, and he currently sits seventh in the 2026 standings, having scored sprint podiums in both Australia and Miami as well as a feature race podium in Canada.
For the Monaco sprint race, Dunne qualified on the front row, before finishing the race in ninth place.
Daly also believes Dunne has a rare attacking instinct, comparing aspects of his racecraft to some of the best overtakers he has seen, while acknowledging the modern era of F1 may limit those opportunities.
“I do think he has the X-Factor. He’s the only guy I’ve seen make passes in the braking zone like Daniel Ricciardo,” Daly said.
“That’s a big thing to say. However, there’s no brake zones anymore!”
The former F1 driver, who raced between 1978 and 1982, scoring 15 championship points across spells with teams including Williams, Tyrrell and Ensign, remains convinced Dunne has what it takes to reach the top level.
“I do think he has the X-Factor,” Daly said.
Ireland has produced only five drivers to enter a grand prix weekend, with just four making race starts, and Daly remains the only Irish-born driver to score points in Formula 1.
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