Dürksen looking forward to "really cool" 2026 with "very possible" top 10 F2 finish in sight
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 5 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
AIX Racing's Joshua Dürksen comes into Formula 2's Qatar weekend sitting just 10 points off tenth-placed Sebastián Montoya in the standings. With the final two weekends featuring four races, the Paraguayan racer believes a second top-ten finish in F2 is "very possible".
2025 has not been very kind to Dürksen all the way, as he found himself sitting on only the single podium finish for most of the year. The sprint victory in Australia earlier this March seems a long gone event, considering the twists and turns F2 has seen this year.
But just as it did for the AIX racer in 2024, his race finishes improved as the season went on. Apart from his Australian sprint win and the Austrian sprint podium, the man from Paraguay has gone on to score three podiums in the last four races, his latest one being second in the Baku Feature Race, which saw him finish just a few hundredths off eventual race winner Jak Crawford at the flag.
"Yeah, it has been a really good last two race weekends before this long break. I mean, having three podiums out of four races is always really cool. How I approach this last race weekends, I think I do the same as I always do," Dürksen said, addressing select media ahead of the Qatar weekend.
"I will just focus on my work and just try to give everything. If you look, last year was exactly the same thing. In Monza we were quick, in Baku we were quick. We struggled a little bit in Qatar.
"We were quick in the races but then the safety car also impeded us from having a good result. We were on the wrong strategy, and then Abu Dhabi went really well making also almost a double podium there. I think we have good chances this year to do the same thing again," Dürksen concluded, referring to the manner in which his rookie campaign ended.
Dürksen's Qatar weekend did not go to plan in 2024. The Paraguayan qualified down in 16th, his AIX Racing machine not suiting the demands of the medium and high speed corners in Qatar. While he finished eighth in the Saturday sprint, an attempt to start on the hard tyres and pit late in the race was scuppered by two safety car interventions early in the race.
When asked by DIVEBOMB if the previous experience in Qatar would benefit him going into 2025, Dürksen reaffirmed it, mentioning how it would help him be more confident through the circuit's high speed corners.
"Certainly," replied Dürksen. "Previous experience in Qatar will help me a lot for this year. It's a really exciting track, really fun to drive, a lot of high speed corners too, so for sure, having some previous experience in this track will be beneficial, and will be quite helpful because yeah, you need to get comfortable on the high speeds here, and just to get to know the track and I think it's easy math when you put them together.
"I mean everywhere the more experience you can have the better it will be for you because you can perfection more your driving, you just know better the track, you know the little tricks to do in order to be fast," he concluded.
Dürksen's form has often been superlative on lower downforce tracks, with AIX Racing often featuring at the top of the grid across events such as Albert Park, Monza, Baku, Spa-Francorchamps and so on.
When asked what suited the team differently on these power-dominant circuits, Dürksen put it down to getting the set-ups and the ride height spot on for such venues.
"I think it has to do with the philosophy of work and setup. I think we just found the sweet spots on the low height, sorry on the low downforce sides. I think we just found a really good setup, the right height. Everything is just matching really well. As you say yes we were struggling more on the high downforce tracks."
The AIX racer also puts it down to his driving style that aligns with power-dependent circuits, where long straights into low speed corners often open up opportunities for overtakes.
"The low downforce tracks somehow just fits us pretty well. Also, my driving style matches that of Monza, Baku, and so on, with a lot of low speed corners" Dürksen mentioned.
"There's no special trick that gives you the performance because if not everybody would be quick on every single track. So I think it's just the philosophy because it's also very interesting to see how some other teams work really well on the higher downforce tracks, others not as well on lower downforce circuits, and some others on the medium downforce.
"So it's really team dependent how they work, how they set up the car and I think we just found the sweet spot on the low downforce and we're still struggling a little bit more on the high downforce side," Dürksen summed up, expressing his thoughts on the team's strengths in F2 so far.
While his performance in the high-downforce Hungaroring circuit was pointed out, Dürksen put it down to making personal gains and finding time in his driving. "From Hungaroring, I think we just found something, because we were struggling a lot last year as well.
"So we had to make some big changes, we have done and it has worked out pretty well. So I think for Hungaroring, it's sorted out."
When asked by the media about his chances of finishing in the top 10 in 2025, Dürksen believed his 10 point gap to Montoya was extremely attainable.
"I think it is very possible," the AIX racer said. "I know that with Abu Dhabi, for sure we have a very good rhythm. We struggled a little bit at the beginning in Qatar, but then of course we came back.
"So for sure, top 10 is very possible, and of course it's very important to finish on a high, to finish with good results. It gives some super licence points, it's not a lot but every super licence point counts.
"I just want to have a great feeling stepping into the next year and starting with the right foot. So I think both things are possible and for sure are very important," Dürksen concluded, referencing the three super licence points he would attain for finishing 10th in the standings.
Dürksen's big Invicta Racing move for the 2026 F2 season
The 2026 F2 grid received a major shake-up, with the likes of IndyCar's Colton Herta and endurance racer Nicolas Varrone joining the series, while 2023 Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata is set to continue in the series for another year.
But among the drivers who have climbed the Feeder Series ladder in Europe, Dürksen looks to be one of the biggest movers on the F2 grid for next year. The Asunción native will form an all South American pairing at Invicta Racing in 2026, with Formula 3 champion Rafael Câmara moving up to the team in yellow in 2026.
Seats at Invicta Racing remain largely sought after, given the team's history of providing F3 champions a platform to excel and forge a strong championship battle and win F2. Gabriel Bortoleto took the title in 2024 after an excellent second half of the campaign, while current championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli sits in prime position to make it two Invicta champions in a row.
Dürksen's move to Invicta Racing will mark the third continuous season of Invicta Racing signing a multiple-season racer with an F3 champion, with the Paraguayan following the footsteps of Kush Maini and Roman Staněk in the process.
When asked by DIVEBOMB about how this move came about, Dürksen put it down as a move that was "naturally coming."
I think it was just when the 'silly season' started in F2, where every driver and every team are looking for the next seats. We (Dürksen's management and Invicta Racing) just kind of talked together because we were seeing the options for next year (2026) with many other teams and of course they also have many other options for drivers.
"So we kind of just matched pretty well, we understood each other pretty well, the conversations were going well and it just kind of naturally came together.
"There was nothing special behind it, no crazy story or crazy thing happening. It was just naturally coming because everybody was looking for their spot next year. For sure we wanted to have a a really good chance next year and Invicta is for sure a top team, they're showing it," Dürksen said, speaking praise of the team's success in 2025.
The Paraguayan racer was also looking forward to partnering with his fellow South American racer next year, waiting to see how he would fare in the championship.
"With Rafa (Câmara) he's a great driver, F3 champion. So for sure he will be very quick. It will be a big challenge to beat him over a season, but I'm really excited for it.
"Also to learn from him because he's doing great stuff, he's doing really good races and qualifying and everything. So I'm really curious also to learn how he works, thinks, drives and just extracts everything from it (the car). So I think it's going to be a really cool year next year.
Dürksen also looked ahead to the prospect of racing in a yellow car in 2026, and one that would be easy to spot from a distance. He believed he would be looking to find himself more towards the front of the field, looking at Invicta Racing's continued turn of pace.
I think what excites me the most is just to see and to learn how they work because something is working really well with them because they are constantly quick. Every race, every race weekend, everywhere. So I'm really curious to get to know the people and just to see their way of work, their philosophy, how they make decisions, their strategies."
"It's more of getting to know the team and see what is working so well there and use it for me of course for next year to make great results and just to learn and grow as a racing driver.
"I think the part that excites me the most and for sure to be racing with a yellow car I think it's really fun. It's gonna be easy to spot on on the TV so hopefully you can see me always on the front," Dürksen concluded, looking ahead eagerly to the upcoming campaign.
