Joshua Dürksen continued his strong record at Monza with victory in the Formula 2 (F2) Sprint Race at the 2026 Italian GP, producing a charge through the field before holding firm through a late Safety Car restart.
Starting seventh, the Invicta Racing driver made immediate progress and climbed to fourth in the opening stages. He later moved into contention for the lead and, following the first Safety Car period, remained close to John Bennett before using DRS to take first place. A second Safety Car threatened to undo his advantage late in the race, but Dürksen controlled the restart and pulled clear to secure victory ahead of Bennett and Oliver Goethe.
The result marked Dürksen’s third Sprint Race victory of the season and his seventh Formula 2 win overall. It also provided another boost at a circuit where the Paraguayan has repeatedly performed strongly throughout his F2 career.
Speaking in the press conference after the Sprint Race at Monza, which Pit Debrief attended, Dürksen reflected on his victory, Invicta Racing’s pace and his ambitions for Sunday’s Feature Race and the remainder of the season.
A special victory at a favourite venue
Dürksen has regularly spoken about his affinity with Monza, and claiming another victory during the F2 Sprint Race at the Italian circuit only strengthened that connection. Starting seventh, the Invicta Racing driver made immediate progress and put himself in a position to fight for the lead as the race developed.
A strong launch proved particularly important, allowing Dürksen to gain ground early rather than becoming trapped further back in the field. Combined with the pace of his Invicta car, that early progress gave him greater control over how he approached the remainder of the Sprint Race. For Dürksen, taking another victory at a circuit with so much history made the result particularly memorable.
“Well, thank you very much. It has been an amazing race, and especially having a win in Monza. I think it’s always very special, as I’ve said many times already. This is my favorite podium of the year. It’s just amazing, the view and just all the history that this track has. And yeah, I felt very good today.”
“The car was for sure very strong. I had a very good start, which helps a lot just to move forward and having a better position during the race. And so, strategy wise, I think it’s a bit better. I think being a bit further in the back, if I wouldn’t have such a good start, I think it would be a bit more difficult to move forward. But the pace was good, and I think, yeah, I enjoyed a lot this race, and I’m very happy that we could get this win home.”
Sprint data offers encouragement for Sunday
Beyond the immediate satisfaction of winning Saturday’s F2 Sprint Race at Monza, Dürksen and Invicta Racing also gathered valuable information ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race. The Paraguayan experienced the car in several different situations, running both in traffic and in clean air as he worked his way to the front.
That gave the team a broader understanding of how the car behaved across the race and provided useful reference points for Sunday, when strategy and tyre management will become even more important. With Dürksen set to start from the front row alongside teammate Rafael Câmara, that additional data could prove valuable as Invicta looks to convert its strong pace into another major result.
“For sure, very good data. That was also one of our main purposes on this race, to gather all this data for tomorrow, and I think we have very good data because we have some information behind some cars. We have information of how the car handles when we are in clean air, and for sure the pace was good. And I think we have a very good picture of what we need for tomorrow.”
A victory for Paraguay
Dürksen also acknowledged the support he continues to receive from Paraguay, where his performances have attracted growing attention. Saturday’s Sprint Race offered fans back home a more convenient opportunity to follow him live than Sunday’s earlier Feature Race, adding another layer of significance to the victory.
For Dürksen, delivering a win at Monza was therefore not only important for his own season and Invicta Racing but also a result he could share with those supporting him from home. He hopes they will have another reason to celebrate after Sunday’s Feature Race.
“It was a very good race. And I’m quite sure all the people back in Paraguay are gonna be very happy, and luckily the sprint race is a good time to watch back at home. The feature race is always a little bit too early for them, but I’m very happy that I could get this win for them as well. And I felt very good, and yeah, hopefully we can repeat the same thing tomorrow.”
Monza experience continues to pay off
Dürksen’s success at Monza stretches back throughout his F2 career. He reached the podium at the circuit with AIX Racing during his rookie campaign in 2024 before adding two more podium finishes the following season. Having also competed at Monza since his Formula 4 days, Dürksen believes that experience gives him an advantage. However, he stressed that familiarity alone cannot produce results in such a competitive field and credited Invicta for giving him the machinery to fight at the front.
“Yeah, for sure, the experience helps a lot. As you said, even from 2024, my first year with AIX, we managed to make a podium here, last year a double one, and having now another one, it’s really amazing and it’s really cool. I love this track. The good thing is, since I started in single-seaters in F4, I was always driving here, so I know this track pretty well. For sure, the experience helps a lot, but at the same time you need a good car to have the pace because all of these guys are very quick, and for sure Invicta gave me a very good car in order to make this happen.”
Strong pace opens the door to early overtakes
Monza’s long straights and heavy braking zones traditionally provide more overtaking opportunities than many circuits on the F2 calendar, and Dürksen made full use of those characteristics during the Sprint Race. Starting seventh, he gained several positions in the early stages before putting himself in contention for the lead.
His previous experience at Monza also gave him confidence that making significant progress through the field was possible. Having seen similar charges in both F2 and F3 at the circuit, Dürksen knew that strong pace and well-timed moves could quickly change the order. Even so, he stressed that overtaking remained difficult against drivers capable of defending effectively.
“Well, I mean, I think Monza always gives a better chance to overtake comparing to other tracks. I think Monza is the best track, actually, during the year in order to make some moves. So I knew it actually from the start that I had very good chances, because the same thing happened last year as well.”
“And from what I’ve seen from other races from F3 as well, where guys from, I don’t know, from P20 went to the top five or something, so I knew that Monza is always like this. And for sure, I felt the pace was good. So it’s always tricky to overtake because the other guys know how to defend and how to extract the best as well. So it’s never easy, but for sure the good pace helps a lot to to make this overtakes happen happen earlier.”
Additional DRS zone boosts the racing
F2 introduced an additional DRS zone at Monza this weekend, giving drivers more opportunities to attack on a circuit already known for its overtaking potential. Dürksen welcomed the change from a racing perspective, believing it can help create more action and give drivers a better chance to make progress through the field.
However, Dürksen’s experience while leading the F2 Sprint Race at Monza also highlighted the downside for the driver at the front. With another DRS opportunity available to the cars behind, breaking clear of the one-second window became even more difficult. That made building and maintaining a gap to Bennett an important part of managing the closing stages of the race.
“Yeah, I think it’s also a good change. As John [Bennett] said, for sure on qualifying, we’re much quicker this year. On the racing, for sure, it helps just to have a chance to have more overtakes. From my experience now while leading, it’s not the nicest thing because it’s very, very difficult to break this DRS gap, this one-second gap. So in that sense, it was not the nicest thing, but for sure, for the racing, it’s a good improvement.”
No simple explanation for Sprint Race success
Dürksen has found particular success in F2 Sprint Races this season, with his Monza triumph adding another Saturday victory to his campaign. His strong performances have also come at high-speed circuits, where he has appeared particularly comfortable behind the wheel.
Despite that pattern, the 22-year-old could not point towards one specific reason for his success. Instead, he suggested that certain circuits simply suit his driving style and allow him to find a natural rhythm, even if he struggles to explain exactly why.
“Well, that’s a good question. I couldn’t answer that either, I mean, I don’t know what the speciality there is in Monza that just helps me to have a good pace, or the same in Baku as well. I don’t know, I just feel comfortable. Somehow the track fits me, I guess. Yeah, it’s tricky for me to answer, to be honest. I have not a straightforward answer on that.”
High expectations ahead of the Feature Race
Attention now turns towards Sunday’s Feature Race, where Dürksen will start from the front row after Invicta Racing locked out the top two positions in Qualifying. His pace across the weekend has raised expectations, but the Paraguayan knows the longer race will bring additional challenges.
With mandatory pit stops, more laps and the possibility of Safety Car interruptions, strategy and execution could prove decisive. Nevertheless, Dürksen believes the team has shown enough pace to fight for another strong result.
“Yes, as Ollie [Goethe] said, for sure, the expectations are high. I had a good qualifying yesterday, very good pace today. So for sure, it would be nice to, to make the same result tomorrow as today. For sure, the pace was good, start was good. And as Ollie said as well, it’s a longer race, more laps, so more opportunities to make good moves or maybe to hope that others make mistakes.”
“Of course, the pit stops is gonna be a key thing tomorrow. Be it a good pit stop or slow, or there’s a safety car coming out in the wrong moment or in the right moment. So a lot of things can happen tomorrow, I think even more than today. So for sure, and we’re gonna still push. Nothing is granted, and a lot, a lot of things can happen tomorrow, but hopefully we can make the same result as today.”
Managing the late Safety Car restart
Dürksen had built a useful advantage at the front when Roman Bilinski’s incident at Ascari brought out a late Safety Car, wiping away the gap he had established over Bennett and setting up a short sprint to the finish.
With the field compressed behind him, the Invicta Racing driver had to manage the restart carefully. His priority was to make sure both the tyres and brakes were in the correct operating window before the run into Turn 1, where even a small mistake could have cost him the lead. Once racing resumed, Dürksen immediately pushed to move Bennett outside the one-second DRS range before settling into the final lap and bringing the car home without taking unnecessary risks.
“Yeah, for sure, as John said, with a quite solid gap. So I don’t want to say the race was relaxed, but for sure we were, let’s say, in a safe, safe spot. But I wasn’t bothered about the safety car restart. It was good, for sure. The target was to have the tires ready for the first corner, as well as the brakes, because these brakes are, they have their sweet spot.”
“So if you’re not in them, it’s very easy to lock up and go straight or make an easy mistake, right? That was the main focus, and I was just pushing as hard as I could, just to make sure to break that gap on this one lap where John doesn’t have the DRS, which worked well. And then I was just, on the last lap, just bringing the car home, driving as normal, not doing any unnecessary risks, and everything went well.”
Building momentum after the summer break
The Monza weekend marked a strong return to action for Dürksen following the summer break, giving him an opportunity to reset and begin the final part of the campaign on a positive note. After a first half of the season which he believes could have produced stronger results, the Invicta Racing driver immediately put himself back in contention with competitive pace and a Sprint Race victory.
With four rounds remaining, Dürksen now hopes the result can provide the momentum needed to consistently fight towards the front. His focus is not only on carrying that form into Sunday’s Feature Race at Monza, but also on maximising each opportunity across the closing stages of the season as he looks to add further strong results and points to his tally.
“Yeah, as John said, for sure, it’s very important to have a good start now after the summer break. It went very well, and I kind of have the same feelings as him, where the first half of this season could have been much better. But the important thing is to start strong after the summer break, which we did, and for sure we want to maximize all of these races and, of course, keep this momentum for tomorrow.”
Dürksen targets more podiums and wins in final rounds
Pit Debrief asked Dürksen about his tendency to return strongly after breaks, something he also demonstrated during the closing stages of the previous season, and what he hoped to achieve across the final four rounds of the campaign.
More immediately, Dürksen faces an opportunity to convert Invicta’s front-row lockout into another major result on Sunday, with teammate Câmara starting alongside him. Rather than setting a complicated target for the closing rounds, Dürksen made his intentions clear: maximise every opportunity, keep pushing and add significantly to his points tally.
“Well, hopefully many more podiums and wins. That’s for sure the target. We started well today. We know we will have to pace for tomorrow, which is good. So I’m just gonna try to maximize everything, to have a good start and see how the race develops. But for the coming races as well, just, just full push, send it, and hopefully we can achieve many more of these results and score a lot of points.”
