In his third F2 season, Invicta Racing’s Joshua Dürksen has endured a difficult start to his 2026 campaign, with the Paraguayan driver currently sitting 11th in the Drivers’ Standings with 21 points. Having won the opening Sprint Race in Melbourne, he has since experienced a season of significant highs and lows as the championship heads into its sixth round.
Reflecting on his season so far, Dürksen said: “At the moment, I think it’s a bit sweet and sour. I have mixed feelings. We have always had very good pace, but we just have not maximise the results yet.”
“So, I’m not happy in that sense, but I’m very happy that I feel very strong with the team, very connected, and very bonded together. We have the pace, so that gives me a lot of optimism for the rest of the races.”
Having spent his first two seasons with AIX Racing, the 22 year-old now finds himself at a team that has consistently fought at the front of the field in recent years.
Feels at “home” with Invicta Racing
“They’re great people.”, he explained. “They have made me feel at home very quickly. It feels like I have known them for a longer time than what I actually do. So, it has been going very well with them right now.”
As a team that has won the last two Teams’ Championships and produced the last two Formula 2 Champions, Dürksen spoke highly about the team’s camaraderie and how its strong connections have fostered a positive working environment for both drivers and team personnel.
“That relationship makes the work much easier because the understanding is there, it’s good vibes and it makes the working days more enjoyable. It gives you more energy as well to do everything you have to do during the day.”
“That very quick connection helps as well to understand each other, how everybody works, how I work and just to work better together.”
Working alongside a “very quick” Câmara
Alongside him at Invicta Racing is reigning Formula 3 Champion Rafael Câmara, who is fresh off his Feature Race win in Barcelona. The rookie has shown strong competitiveness from the outset and has been in strong form in recent rounds, having secured back-to-back pole positions in the last two rounds.
Speaking about working alongside the Brazilian, he said: “It’s been amazing, to be honest, working with Rafa, for sure. He has a lot of speed, he is very quick. I think he has shown it this season, and it has been really great because both of us push each other together to go faster and faster and I think we make a very good team together.”
“The relationship is good, the understanding between us both as well, and it just has been enjoyable.”
As the championship heads into the busy phase of its European leg, Dürksen explained that his focus remains on the finer details needed to improve. Having taken lessons from each race weekend, he hopes to continue developing and building on that trajectory.
The Invicta driver said: “I just keep working like if it would be my first time in F2. There’s always something to improve, and I know that the other drivers will also improve. So I need to improve a lot more to be ahead of them.”
“I keep focusing because there are always little details to improve, there’s always something to find. So I really try to focus and to improve the things that I could improve from the previous race weekend, I try to do them on the next one. The learning never stops.”
“It has been amazing” — Dürksen on joining the Mercedes F1 family
Ahead of the 2026 F2 season, it was announced that Dürksen would join the Mercedes F1 family as a Development Driver. After a run of six podiums in the final four rounds of the 2025 season, the Paraguayan felt it was a confidence booster for himself. Working with a team like Mercedes, he described the experience as “amazing”.
“It means a lot to me to be part of Mercedes and working together with them. Of course, they’re a very, very good team, for me the best.”, Dürksen said.
“After my streak on the podiums – six podiums in the last eight races – that was something very nice and I think that helped me as well, just to show them what I can do. To be honest, I just really learned a lot from them as well and it has been amazing.”
Dürksen outlines his goals for the remainder of the 2026 F2 season
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Invicta driver has set his sights on scoring strong points as the championship approaches the halfway mark.
“It’s important to score very good points in the middle of the season. I think Invicta will help me a lot to make that happen.”
“June and July will be very, very busy with a lot of races, so I’m trying to prepare as much as possible as I can right now, as we have a little bit more of time, because later on it will be very tight. But for sure, Invicta will help me a lot with it.”
Drawing on last year’s Formula 2 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli’s campaign, he noted that it has always been about consistency. The 22 year-old believes that if he can replicate the same level of consistency this year, they will eventually be in the fight for the title.
“I think, as we have seen the last previous years, it’s all about consistency. It’s all about scoring points consistently, race after race, and not being a hero or zero.”, he said.
“It’s just driving consistently. I think Leo Fornaroli is the best example for that. In F3 and the same in F2, he was just consistently there. I think if we can manage that, for sure we will have a good chance in the championship.”
