Invicta Racing’s Joshua Dürksen enters his third F2 campaign in 2026 more motivated than ever to maximise his opportunity with the championship-winning team, setting high expectations for himself. After winning the opening Sprint Race of the 2026 F2 season, the Paraguayan went on to finish 10th in Sunday’s Feature Race, walking away from the weekend with a double points finish.
Currently 7th in the Drivers’ Standings with 11 points, Dürksen reflected on his journey in the championship so far, saying: “It’s just a big journey to be honest, super big. I can tell you in every area I can imagine on the mental side, on the physical side, on my engineering knowledge side, setup knowledge, tyre management knowledge, leadership, prioritising different things, just everything.”
“If I look back and compare it to now, I just see a big growth in every aspect of my life, also in the personal life, managing my time better for example is better now. So, it has been a really positive two years, and I feel more than ready this season to really have a great season with Invicta.”
“I definitely see a big difference” — Dürksen on his progress
The 22 year-old explained that progress often comes in small incremental steps that aren’t always obvious in the moment. Instead, it’s only when looking back over time that the full extent of his improvement became clear to him.
“There are some little things that I realised in a moment like, ‘oh wow, yes, I improved this’ but I think it’s usually with some bigger steps where you realise and notice the big difference.”
“Usually, I don’t realise the things exactly when they happen. It’s more about working step-by-step trying to improve. It’s every race weekend just making small improvements, but then at the end of the year you look back and then you see the big improvements you’ve made from the start.”
He added: “It was like that last year. I just feel like I’m working hard, I’m doing my best, small improvements week by week, but then you look back you see like it was a big, big improvement. I didn’t really feel it during the season, but after the season when I look back, yes, I definitely see a big difference.”
Navigating the learning curve in F2
The step up to Formula 2 in 2024 marked a significant career leap for Dürksen, who came from the Formula Regional European Championship. However, with two seasons of experience under his belt, the Paraguayan feels confident in his abilities to fight at the front of the field.
“There are just some things you can only get by experience and now, with two years of experience in F2, I think I am very prepared to head into this season and fight at the top.”
“My first years in F2, I was just working as hard as I could, getting as much knowledge as I could from pre-event work, analysing corner-by-corner, all the data, every lap, all the little segments of the track and previous races.”
His first two seasons proved to be valuable learning experiences, as the 22 year-old focused on absorbing as much knowledge as possible. He further highlighted the importance of delivering immediately in F2 due to the limited track time.
“I was just trying to get as much information as possible because I know that in F2 we don’t have a lot of track time, we don’t have a lot of time to run and we need to perform straight away.”
“I was really making sure I could get as much information and knowledge as possible and as quickly as possible to at least be on a better level for the first race. Now with the experience, of course, I know more.”
Dürksen: Signing with Mercedes is a step in the right direction
Ahead of the 2026 F2 season, Dürksen was announced as Mercedes F1’s Development Driver for the season, where he is set to take on simulator duties and Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programmes. However, prior to the start of the 2026 season, the Paraguayan had already built an impressive record in F2 that consisted of eight podiums and four wins.
Dürksen said: “Of course, I still do my notes, I still investigate, I still try to learn more stuff but for sure the basics are committed to memory now. But, the experience does really help a lot.”
“It’s cool to see these things happen. Signing with Mercedes also shows me that people outside my circle are seeing my progress. It’s not only me that is seeing progress. So, when these things happen, it’s like a clear step or a clear statement for me that things are going right and that I’m on the right path.”
“Working with one of the best teams in F1 is proof to me that I’m going in the right direction and while there’s still a longer way to go, it gives more motivation because I know things are working and I’ll keep working to make this even better.”
“Particularly proud” of his racecraft improvement
While he’s achieved a lot during his time in Formula 2, Dürksen is most proud of how much his racecraft has developed over the past two years.
“If I had to pick one element I’m particularly proud that I’ve improved, I’d say my racecraft. Generally, I think it was already a strong point for myself, but I think I just improved it even more and I think this helped me to score all the podiums last year.”
“Usually, all the podiums I got, I was always recovering a bit further from midfield or a setback like that, so I think my racecraft is the thing that improved the most.”
