Fresh from a year in FIA Formula 3, Alex Dunne is crystal clear about what he wants his 2025 to look like - and that is to be on the F2 grid.
If he is able to secure a seat in that series before the new season gets underway in Australia two months from now, that would put the Offaly native one step closer to his ultimate dream which is Formula One.
For now, it's a wait and see situation but the 19-year-old has his fingers crossed that he will fill one of the seats that remain open on the grid.
"Of course, the financial side of things, that's probably the more difficult part than it is driving to be honest but that side of things isn't really up to me," Dunne told RTÉ Sport this week.
"But personally, what I want and what my family wants, the goal for this year now is to be on the F2 grid. We'll have to wait and see if we can make it possible but the goal is to be in F2."
One thing that is confirmed though for this year is the fact that the 2022 F4 British champion will be the reserve and development driver for the NEOM McLaren Formula E team.
Dunne believes the role in the electrically powered series will give him more top-level experience and allow him to hone his craft further.
"I think to have the opportunity to do something like that, whilst still being integrated in McLaren was something that seemed to me a very good idea and to work with more people in McLaren and to work closer with the team, I think was something that was beneficial and a good opportunity to do alongside whatever we end up racing this year."
Dunne has been part of the McLaren driver development programme since last May and having such a prestigious - the reigning F1 constructors champions no less - manufacturer behind him is a "massive help" in more ways than one.
"This year I had Jose (Manuel Lopez), who works in McLaren and sometimes is Lando (Norris') performance engineer in F1 and I also had Warren Hughes, who used to race back in the day, and he's now my driver coach as a part of McLaren, so it was always nice to have second opinions from those two very experienced people and two people who really understand motorsport, along with my dad as well," he said.
"Also that but to understand that this year, if something went wrong during the weekend or something wasn't quite right, to have people there to see or understand if it was or wasn't my fault."
Their oversight was particularly valuable during what Dunne admitted was a sometimes tricky 2024 F3 season driving for the MP Motorsport team.
Despite the more challenging parts of the season, he still managed to step on the podium twice, during the sprint races at Barcelona and Monza - the first of those making him the first Irish driver to achieve that feat.
But overall, he saw last year as a learning curve, especially starting on the back foot given a race seat was only confirmed relatively close to the start of the season.
"I wouldn't say I felt unready but naturally I would have liked to have felt a bit more ready," he said.
"I don't think the preparation was exactly ideal. Of course, like I said before, with financial things and different things like that, I'm not really in a position to be picky, so I can't complain.
"I had the opportunity to do a year in F3 so from that aspect I was very lucky but as a driver you want to do as well as possible and you never want to have any disadvantages and you always want to be on top of your game, so looking back at it, I probably wasn't 100% ready but this year in F3 was definitely on the difficult side of things. But there was still some positives to take."
Meanwhile, seeing some of his peers making the step up to F1 also fuels his belief that he can get there too.
"All the rookies that have been announced for F1 recently, I've raced against most of them since I was 12, and to see all of them making it to F1 fills me with a bit more hope because I'd like to think I can make it," he said.
"Of course, each year in F3 and if we end up going to F2, it's going to be very difficult because the drivers are very, very good and there are only 20 spots in F1 and all the drivers in F3 and F2 want to get there just as much as I want to, so of course it's going to be difficult. But if we can keep on chipping away, then I'd like to think it's possible."
Last month in Abu Dhabi, Dunne laid down a marker as he got the chance to do an F2 test with Rodin and P3 over the three days was a point of encourgament as he looks to confirm a step-up for 2025 in a timeframe that he hopes will be "sooner rather than later".
"I did the test with Rodin and if we manage to get it all together and the opportunity was there for this year, I'd be more than happy to race for them," he said.
"I really enjoyed the test with them and it went really well and they did a good job this year and a very good job in the test with me, so if that was possible for this year, I'd be more than happy with that."
Watch the full interview above via the RTÉ Sport YouTube channel.
