Joshua Duerksen returned to the F2 points in Monza’s Sprint Race, with a P3 result. After a long fought race for many people including Duerksen, his podium reward came when Beganovic ahead received a penalty.
Duerksen reflected on his Sprint Race in a Press Conference attended by Pit Debrief. He noted his long-lasting battle, and troubles in turn one. With Monza being the final European destination of the calendar, Duerksen spoke about his fluctuating season, and what this means for next season.
A welcome return to the points
This P3 result is the first time in six rounds that Duerksen has scored points. With a strong performance at Monza last year, he remained confident he could do this again. This confidence was further solidified in Qualifying, when he secured P7.
Monza Qualifying sessions are always tough, and incredibly close, meaning as quickly as you go P1, you may be dropped to last. Despite starting P4 in the Sprint Race, the Paraguayan reflects on his poor start, in which he had to fight back from.
A long-lasting battle with Beganovic ensued and forced him to push much harder, which forced him into mistake. Regardless he remains confident that he had the potential to overtake Beganovic on track.
“It’s been a long time, but yeah, very happy to be honest. Last year we were strong in Monza, so we knew that if we do the same thing as last year, we would be strong again this year. Qualifying was of course chaotic, but I was just happy to be in the top 10 because the Qualifyings in Monza are very volatile.
“So you can be P1 or you can be P last in one lap. So I was just happy to be in the top 10 because this of course would give me good chances for the races starting today P4. Didn’t have the best of the starts, but then slowly I was recovering the places, fighting them with Dino [Beganovic] at the end.
“We were just pushing really hard, making some mistakes. So I think I could have overtaken him on track, but yeah, we were pushing hard for me to overtake him and him for keeping the position. But yeah, just really happy that we’ve got a nice result again for the team.”
Fluctuating results in 2025
With such fluctuating results throughout the season, Duerksen felt the need to emphasise that he wants to find consistency. In order to gain more points, and fight for the top end of the Championship, it is consistency he needs.
He notes that the team and himself are pushing incredibly hard, which can come with mistakes. Although, this is allowing them to find the limit and the absolute maximum pace.
“Yeah, I mean, for sure I want to be more consistent. I think that’s key to be just getting points and just to be on top of the championship. But yeah, we’re just pushing really hard, so I guess we’re just still finding this limit of where it’s just perfect, but we’re pushing hard.
“So by pushing hard, it’s obviously at some point you will do some mistakes. But there were of course some races where we just didn’t have the pace at all, and we didn’t know what the issue was. But for sure it’s one of my targets to be more consistent, and we’re working on it.”
Managing the ups and downs of the season
Coming into the season, Duerkson and AIX Racing maintained the same expectations as last year—to be fighting at the front. This goal kicked off well at the beginning of the season, winning in Australia, an on track podium that was taking away in Bahrain. Following that, he began to struggle.
There was no clear reason for AIX’s struggles, but they have worked hard to come back. The start of the returning success began in Great Britain and Austria, but has truly peaked again in Italy. The ups and downs of the season have been frustrating for Duerkson, but with focus reset, hard work is beginning to pay off.
“Yeah, so for sure, we were also having the same expectations to be fighting in the front. I mean, we started the season quite well, to be honest, with a victory in Australia, the on-track podium in Bahrain, which sadly didn’t happen on the papers. And since then, we started to struggle. We didn’t know why. It was just very weird that we suddenly lost that much performance and then we were just really working hard to come back. And then I think in Silverstone and Red Bull Ring, we’re slowly starting to come back now in Monza as well.
“So it was very ups and downs. And what we just tried to do is just to, again, of course, it’s frustrating to not be in the front every single race. But of course, what we try to do is then just to see what we can improve. You know, what’s the issue, what we can do to improve and what we have to do to just be in front again. So this has been our main focus. And if we just focus on this, the results will come by themselves for the future.”
A hard-fought battle to the podium
The fight to the podium began with an attempt to get past Sami Meguetounif. Duerkson was fiercely defended against, which lost him time. Once he got past, every lap became a Qualifying lap. Fighting his hardest to catch the cars in front, crucially, to catch the DRS he needed to get past them.
He eventually found the DRS of Beganovic, attempting to find a way past him. The tyre wear started to become apparent, making this task far harder. Monza is known for the chaos and action it provides, and this Sprint Race was no different.
“Yeah, I mean, when I tried to overtake Meguetounif, he was defending a lot, so we lost a lot of time with the guys in front, so there was a big gap. So I had to push like qualifying every single lap just to try to cut the gap because of course the other guys had DRS, so they were going away. I didn’t have the DRS, so I had to gain this time on the corners.
“Lap by lap, I was slowly catching them until I got into DRS and just trying to fight and trying to overtake him. But yeah, the tyres were starting to drop as well, so it was making our lives also a bit more difficult. But Monza always creates great action. You can always expect a lot of overtakes and a lot of action here in Monza.”
Turn one proved difficult
A key issues throughout the field proved to be turn one. Many drivers were seen cutting the chicane, or being forced to take the escape road. The chicanes become a challenge when you consider the speed that drivers approach them at, and how low the downforce of their cars are. The braking portion of the corner becomes difficult.
Duerkson explained that receiving a tow also greatly impacts them in this sense. While it isn’t always completely clear how much a tow is effecting you, it becomes clear when you overshoot a corner. When asked whether turn one caught him out also, Duerksen stated: “Kind of. I think I had one or something.”
“No but, I think the chicanes are so tricky because you’re coming on a very long straight, you’re arriving at 320 or 330 even. And then with the low downforce, you know, trying to brake and still make the corner is quite difficult, especially if you’re fighting and if you’re with the tow and stuff like this. And of course, it’s also really easy just to get some front locking just at the end of braking and then just missing the corner.
“So I think it’s just the nature of the track. I think it’s just there’s so many things that you need to take into account when you’re going to brake. So, of course, if you’re in a tow and you don’t realise that this tow is affecting you that much, suddenly you just brake and then you just overshoot, you know, because you lose downforce or you’re arriving with higher speeds. And I think that’s the trickiness of Monza, you know, just to maximise the braking without going off and, of course, make the corner and then gain the lap time there.”
A new season on the horizon
With the 2025 season nearing its end, the conversation begins to switch to 2026 plans. While other drivers may be searching for an F1 seat for next year, Duerksen is aiming for another F2 season. This is in the hopes that he can catch the eye of a Formula 1 team.
Rumours swirl that Duerksen will be moving to Invicta Racing, and while he would like to go to Invicta, he notes that his future is not confirmed with anyone. This is despite contract negotiations in progress.
“I would love the Invicta seat, to be honest. No, but we’re still working on it as well. I think we’re just on this seeding season right now. A lot of stuff still has to be coordinated. Our ideal plan, of course, we still want to dream with F1. So for sure, I want to stay one more year in F2, just to give me another shot. If some F1 teams suddenly would be interested in me. For sure, we’re still in negotiations with a lot of teams, but nothing confirmed yet. So we hope that in the future, we can be more certain with what can happen.”
Making Paraguay proud
While a podium means a lot to Duerksen and his team, it also means a lot for his 2026 negotiations, and to his home country of Paraguay. In the thick of tough times, he notes that it can be hard to stay motivated or to continue working hard. Although, he is grateful he continued.
The last few weeks have been special for Paraguay as a whole, with multiple different categories of success. Duerksen is grateful that he can add to his country’s success, and make the residents proud.
“It’s rewarding, because, you know, when it’s tough times, of course, it’s very easy to get unmotivated or just, you know, just to not work as hard. But that’s a good thing that we kept working hard. And of course, we knew that if we continue like this, the reward will come soon. Of course, it helps a lot as well for the negotiations and just to show the people what I can do.
“And it has been really special because these last two weeks has been, I think, the best two of Paraguay, because we had the Pan Am Sports Games. We had the World Rally Championship in Paraguay for the first time. The drivers loved it. Then we had the national football team that classified to the World Cup. And now this podium, I think it’s just the best two weekends or the best two weeks for my country. So of course, it’s really special that I can give some smiles as well to my people back in Paraguay.”
When asked about the Paraguayan shirt he was seen wearing earlier in this week, he spoke candidly about the happiness he found.
“Yeah, I mean, sadly I couldn’t watch the game because I had to sleep because of course I had to be fit for qualifying. But as soon as I woke up, I saw the results and then I was just, that made my day already. So I started the day with the right foot.”
Battling a penalty faced Beganovic
In response to a question asked by Pit Debrief, Duerksen revealed that he wasn’t aware Beganovic was facing a penalty. He commented that he was still unsure what the penalty was for. The Paraguayan remained focused on the race, and the potential of overtaking the Swede on track.
“I didn’t know about the penalty. I still don’t know why he got a penalty. But I was just focused on the race, to be honest. I was just focused on getting him on the track, I think we both were pushing very hard. I did a bit too many mistakes, I think I could have overtaken him on track. But I think that’s the nature, you know, if you push on the limit, sometimes you go over it and you learn from this. But yeah, I was just thinking about getting him.
A realisation that he was set to stand on the podium
It was only once Duerksen crossed the finish line that his engineer informed him of Beganovic’s penalty. This boosted his mood further once realising this put him on the podium. He describes his race as strong, with the ability for good pace.
The only negative he takes from this race is the fact he had to push as hard as he did. This of course affected the management of his tyres. Overall the raw pace was there, bringing confidence and hope for the Feature Race.
“And then later on, my engineer told me after crossing the line that Beganovic got a podium and it was, I mean, sorry, he got a penalty. And then I was like, oh, nice. I’m on podium, you know, because I knew I was before and I was like, come on, I want to get this podium so badly. And the race was good. I think we had good pace. Just as I told you, I was pushing too hard. I think I could have managed this a bit better. But I think the raw pace is there and I’m quite sure we’re going to have a good race tomorrow again.”
Durksen was then informed that Beganovic’s penalty was due to a Virtual Safety Car infringement. Durksen responded: “Okay, yeah, this I realised because I was perfectly on my delta and he was quite further in front. So I was like, this looks weird.”
Excitement surrounding the potential of a Herta switch to F2
With rumours swirling around the future of Colton Herta after Cadillac F1 Team announced him as Test Driver, Duerksen shared his thoughts. The transition to F2 for Herta is something that greatly excites Duerksen.
While he can acknowledge that it will be a completely new challenge for the IndyCare driver, it would remain a competitive environment, like the one he is used to. He also adds that this would be a great chance for the F2 drivers to learn from him.
“I would love it, I would really love it. I mean, I think it’s going to be a great comparison as well for the motorsport world to see what an IndyCar driver can do in F2, because I think both categories are extremely competitive. Of course, it will be very different for him because as the guy said, it’s a new track and a very different car to drive. And I think also just the environment will be very different for him. But to be honest, I would love him to do the move to F2. I think we as F2 drivers, we could also learn a lot from him.”
