JOSHUA DURKSEN CLAIMS FORMULA TWO MONZA SPRINT RACE VICTORY
Invicta Racing driver Joshua Durksen put on a masterclass performance at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, carving his way through the field from seventh on the grid to claim victory in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race.
The Paraguayan driver delivered an aggressive yet calculated drive at the Italian “Temple of Speed,” securing his third Sprint victory of the 2026 campaign and adding another trophy to his growing podium tally at the circuit. Trident’s John Bennett crossed the line in second place during his 50th career start, while MP Motorsport driver Oliver Goethe filled out the final step of the podium in third.
The race got underway with a clean start as pole-sitter John Bennett launched cleanly off the line to defend his lead into the tight Variante del Rettifilo chicane. Behind him, ART Grand Prix’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made an explosive start to leap into second place, while championship leader Nikola Tsolov made initial gains into the top six.
Dürksen was the standout performer on the opening lap, pulling off quick overtakes on the Rodin Motorsport cars before executing a late move around the outside of Ritomo Miyata to snatch fourth position early on.
Drama struck the field on lap five when contact in the midfield triggered a major interruption. As drivers bunched up following a tight exchange between Tsolov and Alexander Dunne, Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara was tapped into a spin after contact with Nico Varrone.
Câmara’s car stalled on track, forcing the title contender into an early retirement and necessitating a Safety Car deployment that wiped away Bennett’s multi-second lead.
When the race resumed on lap seven, Bennett initially managed to hold off the trailing pack, but Dürksen maintained immense pressure using the slipstream down the main straight. On lap nine, Dürksen utilized the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to make his winning move, sweeping past Bennett before Turn 1 to take control of the race.
Behind them, early front-runner Inthraphuvasak dropped out of podium contention following a lock-up under braking, allowing Martinius Stenshorne, Oliver Goethe, and Noel León to advance.
A second Safety Car was called out on lap 16 after Roman Bilinski lost control and crashed into the barriers, setting up a final sprint to the finish with three laps remaining. Dürksen timed his restart expertly to prevent any overtakes into the first corner, pulling away to claim a comfortable victory.
Campos Racing’s Noel León mounted a late charge to capture fourth place ahead of his teammate Tsolov, who expanded his championship points total with a fifth-place finish.
Title contender Gabriele Minì endured a difficult afternoon in front of his home Italian crowd. After starting deep in the pack, the MP Motorsport driver engaged in multiple battles throughout the short race but was unable to break into the points-paying top eight, ultimately crossing the finish line in tenth place. Despite missing out on points, Minì held onto second place in the Drivers’ Championship standings, while Tsolov further widened his advantage at the top of the leaderboard.
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