There were 16 rookies joining the Formula 3 grid at the start of the season, and some of them faired a lot better than others.
Leonardo Fornaroli claimed the 2024 Formula 3 title in his sophomore campaign with Trident at the final round of the championship at Monza, beating Gabriele Mini with an overtake at the final corner of the last lap of the Feature Race.
Within the 30 drivers in the championship, Arvid Lindblad placed the highest of the rookies with an impressive fourth, winning fourth races across the season – the most of any other driver.
Another new face in the series was Alex Dunne, who joined MP Motorsport for his debut campaign on the F1 support ladder after finishing second in the GB3 championship last year.
The Irishman also finished second in Italian F4 in 2022 and won the F4 British Championship the same year in dominant fashion, claiming 11 wins, 11 pole positions and 17 podiums in 27 races, missing the final three races at Brands Hatch.
Alex Dunne opens up on things going ‘consistently’ wrong in his debut Formula 3 season
However, Dunne’s success in other junior categories did not quite carry over to F3, as the 18-year-old finished down in 14th in the standings.
The Irishman did enjoy some good results, finishing on the podium twice in the Sprint Races at Catalunya and Monza, finishing second and third respectively. Dunne finished fourth in the Feature Race at the latter in what was a solid end to the season.
READ MORE: Arvid Lindblad ‘super excited’ as he confirms his plans for 2025 after excellent rookie F3 campaign
Unfortunately, his season was let down with several incidents and misfortunes. Dunne was disqualified from qualifying in Imola after putting his car fifth, leaving him down the order.
A red flag in qualifying at Monaco cost Dunne a position at the front and he suffered a miserable weekend at Silverstone, finishing 22nd in the Sprint Race and retiring from the Feature Race.
Speaking with BBC Sport, Dunne opened up on his struggles after having previous success in other junior categories.
“Coming off the back of two-and-a-half years of being fairly successful in cars and fighting for poles, wins and titles in whatever series I was racing in, to come into this year and have things go wrong more consistently than I would have liked, that can be quite difficult,” he said.
“Pretty much the whole year I felt the pace was there to be at the front. I never felt like I was struggling to be on pace in qualifying and the race.
“I knew once it all came together then the weekend would be good. Every time I felt like there was not any issues or the weekend came together, the results were what I expected.”
READ MORE: Leonardo Formaroli reveals what he did to Gabriele Mini after winning the F3 title in Monza
Alex Dunne is aiming to race in Formula 2 for the 2025 season
As the 2024 campaign comes to a close, Dunne has high aspirations for his career as he looks to make his way up the motorsport pyramid.
The 18-year-old signed to the McLaren Driver Development programme back in May, and he is hoping to get a spot in Formula 2 for 2025.
While only F3 champion Fornaroli and Lindblad are officially confirmed for next season, many teams will most likely have numerous experienced options ahead of Dunne to consider.
The Irishman expressed that he is happy to stay in F3 for a further year to continue his development, as he targets a more consistent campaign.