JOSHUA DURKSEN SWEEPS MONZA F2 FEATURE IN INVICTA ONE-TWO
Paraguayan driver Joshua Durksen secured a double victory at Monza by winning the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race. The victory marked his fourth win of the season and his eighth career Formula 2 triumph, tying the all-time victory record held jointly by Felipe Drugovich, Nyck de Vries, and Artem Markelov.
Durksen led an Invicta Racing 1-2 finish ahead of teammate Rafael Camara following an intense duel between the two South American drivers. Despite the internal rivalry, Camara’s second-place finish earned him valuable championship points, closing the gap significantly on standings leader Nikola Tsolov.
The battle at the front began right from the start when pole-sitter Camara locked his front-left tire into the Variante del Rettifilo chicane, briefly losing the lead to Durksen. Camara fought back to reclaim the top spot on lap six with a slipstream pass down the main straight. However, the crucial moment arrived during the pit-stop window. Durksen came into the pit lane a lap earlier to switch onto soft compound tires, executing a faster pit stop that allowed him to undercut Camara when the Brazilian made his stop a few laps later.
The second half of the race was interrupted on lap 12 when the Safety Car was deployed following a spin by Hitech driver Colton Herta at the exit of the Parabolica curve. On the subsequent restart, Alexander Dunne made a mistake at the Seconda Variante chicane while attempting to place pressure on Camara, running deep into the turn and dropping down the order.
Camara set the fastest lap of the race as he tried to reel in his teammate in the closing stages, but Durksen held his ground to cross the finish line first. Following the checkered flag, a minor fire ignited on Durksen’s car, though he safely brought the vehicle to a halt to celebrate with his team.
Behind the Invicta drivers, Campos Racing’s Noel Leon completed the podium in third place after maintaining a clean and consistent drive throughout. John Bennett of Trident and Ritomo Miyata of Hitech secured fourth and fifth, followed by Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne in sixth. Meanwhile, championship leader Nikola Tsolov had a difficult afternoon in his Campos Racing car, crossing the line in seventh place after failing to make significant progress through the field.
ART Grand Prix driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak inherited eighth place after Martinius Stenshorne received a ten-second post-race penalty that dropped him out of the points. Oliver Goethe and Nico Varrone rounded out the top ten paying positions. Local fan favorite Gabriele Minì endured a disappointing home event for MP Motorsport, finishing 11th outside the points after starting deep in the field due to a difficult qualifying session.
Following the Monza round, Nikola Tsolov maintains his lead in the FIA Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship with 177 points. Rafael Camara moves up to second position with 166 points, trailing the leader by just 11 points. Gabriele Minì drops to third overall with 147 points, 30 points off the top spot, while Dunne and Leon hold fourth and fifth place with 118 and 114 points respectively. The Formula 2 Championship now heads to Spain for its debut round at the Madring circuit.
Share this content:
