Parguay’s Joshua Dürksen said making decisive early overtakes was the key to success as he secured victory in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at the Australian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old delivered an impressive performance in his first race weekend with Invicta Racing, as he repeated his 2025 victory in Melbourne, where he won from second on the grid for AIX Racing.

Dürksen’s race-winning moment came with a daring move around the outside at Turn 9 — a corner not typically known for overtaking.

Having slipped behind Oliver Goethe in the MP Motorsport car, the eventual race winner scythed past both the German and Thailand’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who’d started on reverse-grid pole position, to snatch the lead.

LAP 2/23

DÜRKSEN TAKES THE LEAD!! ??#F2 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Pf41TVq9f4

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) March 7, 2026

“It was a very good race,” Dürksen said after the race. “A very nice move actually around the outside in Turn 9. It was a bit risky because of course T9 is not the best corner to overtake, but it was my only chance before getting stuck in the DRS train.”

He explained that acting quickly was crucial to avoiding being trapped behind other cars.

“I just made sure to overtake as quickly as possible. It worked pretty well, so from that point onwards I could manage my tyres, manage the pace and bring it home.”

Managing Tyre Degradation

Despite having the advantage of clear air out in front, the race wasn’t without it’s challenges as drivers were reporting early issues with rear tyre degradation during the race.

Dürksen explained that this was partly due to a change in tyre compounds compared to previous seasons.

“This is actually the first time we raced with a Soft tyre as a Prime tyre. Last year it was the Medium, which held quite well during the race.”

With the softer compound of Pirelli rubber, it meant tyre management became more critical.

“With the Soft, you feel there’s more degradation, so you need to be careful. Luckily Melbourne is not a track which is very aggressive on tyres, so it’s a bit easier to drive. But still, you can destroy them quite easily if you don’t manage them well.”

How drivers handle this during Sunday’s Feature Race could be the difference between a good result and a bad one.

Crucial Safety Car Restart

A Safety Car period late in the race eradicated Dürksen’s lead and forced him to defend his position once the race resumed on Lap 19.

The stoppage was caused by PREMA’s Mari Boya, who crashed for the second time in two sessions.

“Luckily I managed to have a good Safety Car restart,” he said. “I think I broke the one-second gap just before Turn 1 already, which was very important.”

? SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED ?

Mari Boya finds the wall at Turn 6.#F2 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/cB0qdCA1uZ

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) March 7, 2026

Maintaining that gap prevented the chasing drivers from using DRS.

“Once the guy is inside the DRS it becomes difficult to pull away, so it was very important to have that one-second gap before Turn 1 and then build a bigger gap from there.”

The 22-year-old also had to manage restarts on his way to victory in 2025, no doubt drawing on that experience to keep his competitors at bay.

A Strong Start with Invicta Racing

The victory marks Dürksen’s fifth win in Formula 2 as his first race weekend with Invicta Racing got off to the perfect start.

“I can’t complain with a victory,” he said. “I’m very happy that I got the first victory of the season and with Invicta.”

The Paraguayan picked up two wins in each of his seasons with AIX, including Feature Race successes in the season-closing Abu Dhabi round in both 2024 and 2025.

VAMOSSSS ?? @JoshuaDuerksen1 wins the F2 Sprint in Melbourne!!

What a way to start the season ? pic.twitter.com/FrJutj1eQn

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 7, 2026

While pleased with the Sprint Race result, Dürksen made it clear that the team’s focus remains on the Feature Race.

“The main goal is to have this kind of victory in the Feature Race. That’s the target and I think we will have the pace for it.”

“We have to maximise every opportunity. This time I had the opportunity to win the Sprint Race, so we did it and got some good points. But we’ll keep working to get more points in the Feature Race.”

Sunday’s Feature Race begins at 11.25am local time in Melbourne.

Image: Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images