After causing a first-lap crash with Victor Martins in the Monaco Formula 2 feature race, Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne faced a plethora of online abuse on social media. Feeder Series spoke to Rodin team manager Benn Huntingford to find out how the team supported Dunne during this difficult period.

By Tori Turner

Seven drivers, including Dunne and Martins, retired as a result of the first-corner pile-up at the start of the Monaco feature race last month. Dunne started on pole for the race but fell behind Martins heading into Sainte Dévote. In a bid to regain the lead, Dunne lunged to the inside of Martins and locked wheels with him, leading to the collision.

In a press conference after the Barcelona sprint race six days later, Dunne opened up to the media about the harassment he received in the aftermath of the Monaco incident. The Irishman became emotional as he recounted how the comments affected him. 

Dunne is not alone in becoming a victim of online harassment from racing fans. Abusive comments directed towards motorsport competitors have increased substantially on social media platforms such as Instagram and X in recent years. Just last month, the Alpine F1 squad released a statement on behalf of Jack Doohan, who had lost his race seat to Franco Colapinto, condemning online abuse against him and his family.

On 5 June 2025, four days after the Spanish Grand Prix weekend concluded, F1, F2 and F3 released a statement in conjunction with the FIA that condemned any online abuse.

“On behalf of our Teams and Drivers, F1, F2, F3 and the FIA, through their United Against Online Abuse campaign, firmly condemn abuse and harassment of any form,” the statement read. 

“We urge everyone to remain respectful towards the athletes and their teams.”

The statement did not make reference to specific events or competitors.

“The statement from F2, F3 and F1 that went out wasn’t exclusive to what’s been happening with Alex but also to the wider area and comments that are made generally online,” Huntingford told Feeder Series at a virtual media roundtable last week. “We’re supportive of them addressing the issue and trying to make the online environment a better place for the drivers, teams and for the fans.”

After the disappointing weekend in Monaco, Dunne bounced back in Spain to retake the championship lead with two top-five finishes.

Huntingford explained how Rodin provided Dunne with the necessary support to leave the Monaco weekend behind and focus on the Barcelona event instead.

“In terms of Alex, it was just a case of not letting it interfere with his weekend, just helping him keep focused on what he needed to be doing with his racing and trying to shelter him from any of that.”

Dunne entered Spain with a 10-place grid penalty for the sprint race for causing the first-corner pile-up in the Monaco feature race. The Barcelona weekend was not without its own challenges, however.

Five days after the Monaco round ended, he was summoned to the stewards’ office for an incident in free practice at Barcelona. 

Dunne entered the pits behind Martins but misjudged the speed of the Frenchman and hit the rear of his car. The stewards handed the McLaren junior two three-place grid penalties for both races that weekend. 

Despite starting 19th because of his combined drop of 13 grid places, Dunne finished second in the sprint race. A safety car on lap 18 of 26 gave the Irishman a chance to change onto the soft tyres. With the top 10 on track running older tyres and only eventual winner Richard Verschoor ahead of him on the same strategy, the 19-year-old was able to scythe through the field. 

He then finished fifth in the feature race from eighth on the grid, giving him a three-point advantage over Verschoor, his closest title rival, in the drivers’ standings.

“No one’s there to do anything other than their best and try to win races,” Huntingford added. “There will always be incidents in racing. Changing the way that it’s handled on social media is something to address in the future.” 

Dunne will return to the track this weekend for F2’s seventh round at Spielberg, supporting the Austrian Grand Prix. He will also make his F1 free practice debut for McLaren on Friday in place of Lando Norris, becoming the first Irish-licenced driver to participate in an F1 session since Ralph Firman in 2003.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency