DUERKSEN CLOSES 2025 F2 SEASON WITH FEATURE RACE WIN AS INVICTA TAKES TITLE
Joshua Duerksen ended the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season with another win, taking victory in the Yas Marina Feature Race for AIX Racing. Roman Stanek finished second, helping Invicta Racing secure the Teams’ Championship. Gabriele Minì completed the podium in third for PREMA Racing.
When the race began, Stanek kept the lead into Turn 1. Behind him, Dino Beganovic passed Leonardo Fornaroli for third. At Turn 5, Beganovic moved up to second by passing Jak Crawford. Crawford then received a 10-second stop/go penalty because his tyres were not fitted in time before the race.
Duerksen overtook Fornaroli at Turn 9 to take fourth. Crawford had to pit at the end of the first lap to serve his penalty, so Beganovic and Duerksen moved up to second and third.
A Safety Car came out on Lap 2 after a collision between Victor Martins and Alexander Dunne. Dunne’s car was left sideways and was then hit by Cian Shields. All three drivers retired.
Racing restarted on Lap 6. Stanek and Beganovic pitted at the end of Lap 7, while Duerksen and Fornaroli stayed out. Stanek came back onto the track just ahead of Beganovic, but Beganovic used the slipstream to pass him.
Duerksen pitted soon after, and thanks to a strong in-lap and a clean stop, he rejoined ahead of both Beganovic and Stanek with a two-second advantage.
A Virtual Safety Car on Lap 11 became a full Safety Car on Lap 12 when Sebastián Montoya stopped on track. The race restarted on Lap 15. Fornaroli now led on the road, but he had not stopped yet. Duerksen, who had already pitted, was in ninth. Beganovic looked like a podium contender, but he received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
On Lap 17, Arvid Lindblad attacked Fornaroli but couldn’t make the move stick. The pair was 2.2 seconds ahead of Richard Verschoor in third. Lindblad eventually overtook Fornaroli on Lap 21, lost the place, then finally made the move stick on Lap 22.
Crawford, recovering after his penalty, also passed Fornaroli. Fornaroli briefly got back ahead with DRS, but Crawford retook the position two laps later.
With three laps left, Lindblad and Fornaroli made their mandatory pit stops and fell to 12th and 13th. Crawford and Verschoor also pitted on the next lap, giving the race lead to Duerksen. Crawford rejoined fighting Lindblad, but Lindblad held the position.
Duerksen won the race, taking back-to-back victories in Abu Dhabi. Stanek held off a late attack from Minì to finish second, confirming Invicta’s Teams’ title. Minì finished third, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Beganovic once the Swede’s penalty was applied.
Oliver Goethe finished fifth, followed by Rafael Villagómez in sixth. Kush Maini was seventh, Ritomo Miyata eighth, and Lindblad and Crawford recovered to ninth and tenth.
Fornaroli ended the year as the 2025 Drivers’ Champion. Crawford’s points secured second place in the Championship, and Verschoor finished third overall ahead of Luke Browning and Alexander Dunne.
Invicta Racing kept their Teams’ Championship. Hitech TGR ended the year second, Campos Racing third. DAMS Lucas Oil and MP Motorsport tied on 207 points, but DAMS took fourth on countback.
The season is over, but Formula 2 will return to Yas Marina for post-season testing from 10–12 December.
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