Joshua Duerksen won the FIA Formula 2 sprint race at Monza, Italy, on Saturday, September 5, earning his third short-race victory of the season. The Paraguayan driver for Invicta Racing completed all 21 laps ahead of John Bennett of Trident and Oliver Goethe of MP Motorsport.
The starting position requires some explanation: Duerksen had finished Friday’s qualifying session second, behind his teammate Rafael Câmara. Because the top 10 are reversed for the sprint, he would originally have started ninth, but penalties imposed on Nikola Tsolov and Noel León moved him up to seventh.
At the second corner, Duerksen passed Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne of Rodin Motorsport, as well as Ritomo Miyata of Hitech, moving into fourth place. He then got past Oliver Goethe and tried to overtake Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak of ART Grand Prix. The Paraguayan went off track twice during those attempts and returned the position both times before completing a move within the rules.
Once Inthraphuvasak had been passed, only John Bennett remained ahead. Duerksen took the lead on lap nine and managed the advantage through the neutralizations and restarts. A final yellow flag appeared with two laps remaining, but the driver held the lead until the checkered flag at the Monza Circuit, known by its nickname, the Temple of Speed.
The win earned him 11 points — 10 for the victory and one for the fastest lap — taking Duerksen’s season total to 53. The championship lead remained with Bulgaria’s Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing, on 171 points, 118 more than the Paraguayan. Duerksen’s other sprint victories came at Albert Park in Australia and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
“It was an incredible race. Winning at Monza is always special. The car was very strong, I made a good start and that helped me move forward quickly,” Duerksen said in the category’s official interview. He also said the pace remained good throughout the race and that the team collected data on the car’s behavior in traffic and in clean air.
The victory came in the championship’s 10th round and included a symbolic moment on the podium: Paraguay’s national anthem was played during the ceremony. In the main race, known as the Feature Race, or long race, Câmara will start from pole, with Duerksen alongside him on the front row. The race will run for 30 laps on Sunday, September 6, at 4:45 a.m. Paraguay time, with coverage on Disney+.