"I felt confident much quicker than I expected": Alex Dunne on his debut F1 showing

Alex Dunne said he adapted to his first appearance at Formula One level "much quicker" than he expected, and that he became "more and more confident" as it went on.

The 19-year-old Offaly driver turned in a hugely impressive performance at the first practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix today, coming in fourth for McLaren.

Speaking to Sky Sports this afternoon, he said: "I'm very, very pleased. Regardless of the performance and the place at the end I think I'm more pleased that it was just a clean session, there was no mishaps, I didn't get in anyone's way.

"All the stuff that we needed to test in the beginning on the car all went smoothly, and all went to plan, so from that side I was very happy.

"Through the session I just felt more and more confident... I got comfortable in the car and felt confident much quicker than I would have expected, so then I had the confidence to go out and push, and try to do a decent lap at the end."

He admitted there had been a few nerves ahead of today's landmark moment in his motorsport journey.

"I was a little bit nervous before. Not necessarily nervous in what I can do, more just that I wanted to make sure the session went smoothly and there were no mishaps."

You can watch his interview with Sky Sports here: