Duerksen charges from seventh to claim Monza Sprint Race victory
Joshua Duerksen produced an impressive recovery drive from seventh on the grid to claim victory in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monza.
The Invicta Racing driver carved his way through the field during the opening stages before taking the lead from John Bennett and controlling a late Safety Car restart to secure his third Sprint Race victory of the 2026 season.
Bennett converted reverse-grid pole into second place for TRIDENT on his 50th Formula 2 start, while Oliver Goethe recovered from a difficult opening half of the race to complete the podium for MP Motorsport.
Championship leader Nikola Tsolov finished fifth behind Campos Racing teammate Noel León, while his two closest title rivals, Gabriele Minì and Rafael Câmara, both failed to score.
Duerksen wastes no time
Bennett made a strong getaway from pole and covered Goethe into the opening chicane, although the battle between the front-row starters allowed Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to move into second.
Further back, Duerksen immediately began making progress from seventh. The Paraguayan was already up to fourth after passing Martinius Stenshorne at the first Lesmo.
Bennett capitalised on the fighting behind to establish an early advantage, but Duerksen continued his charge.
After passing Goethe for third at the beginning of Lap 3, the Invicta driver turned his attention to Inthraphuvasak. An initial attempt around the outside at Turn 1 on the following lap came to nothing, but Duerksen made the move stick with DRS on Lap 5 to move into second.
The championship contenders, meanwhile, were enduring a much more difficult afternoon.
Tsolov initially lost a position to Campos teammate León before going wheel-to-wheel with Alexander Dunne at the first chicane. Both ran deep into Turn 2 and dropped to eighth and ninth respectively.
Things were about to get considerably worse for another title contender.
Câmara spins out
Feature Race polesitter Câmara had been making his way towards the points when contact with Nico Varrone sent the Brazilian into a spin.
The Invicta driver was unable to get going again, bringing out the first Safety Car of the afternoon and ending any chance of adding to his championship tally.
Bennett retained the lead when racing resumed at the start of Lap 7, but Duerksen was now firmly attached to the rear of the TRIDENT.
Two laps later, Bennett’s resistance was finally broken.
Duerksen used the tow and DRS down Monza’s long main straight before completing his move under braking for the first chicane to take control of the race.
Behind the leading pair, the battle for the final podium position remained wide open.
Goethe had fallen behind Stenshorne earlier in the race, while Inthraphuvasak’s hopes took a significant blow when he locked up at Turn 1 on Lap 12 and was forced through the escape road.
León took advantage shortly afterwards, passing the ART Grand Prix driver around the outside at Turn 4, before Tsolov and Dunne also worked their way through.
Goethe, meanwhile, recovered the ground he had lost and reclaimed third from Stenshorne with a DRS-assisted move into Turn 1 on Lap 16.
Late Safety Car sets up Monza sprint finish
Just as Duerksen appeared to have the race under control, Roman Bilinski spun at the exit of Ascari on Lap 17 and was left stranded at the side of the circuit.
The resulting Safety Car wiped out the Invicta driver’s advantage and set up a two-lap dash to the chequered flag.
Duerksen judged the restart perfectly.
As racing resumed heading onto Lap 20 of 21, the Paraguayan quickly opened enough of an advantage to keep Bennett outside DRS range.
Behind them, León continued his recovery by going around the outside of Stenshorne at Turn 1 for fourth. Tsolov followed his teammate through at the first Lesmo to move into fifth.
Stenshorne attempted to respond on the final lap but out-braked himself at the opening chicane and was forced to concede the position back to the championship leader.
At the front, however, there was no catching Duerksen.
The Invicta driver crossed the line to claim his third Sprint Race victory of the season, adding another Monza success to his Formula 2 record and becoming the driver with the most F2 podium appearances at the Italian circuit.
Speaking after the race, Duerksen praised the strength of the Invicta package and highlighted how important his start had been in allowing him to make rapid progress through the field.
The Paraguayan also believes Saturday’s running has put the team in a strong position for the Feature Race after gathering valuable information about the car in both traffic and clean air.
Bennett had hoped to convert pole position into victory but was nevertheless pleased to secure his second podium of the season, admitting that Duerksen ultimately had too much pace.
Goethe completed the podium after recovering from what he described as a difficult race in which several early battles cost him positions.
Tsolov extends championship advantage
León finished fourth ahead of teammate Tsolov, with Stenshorne sixth and Dunne seventh.
Laurens van Hoepen claimed the final point in eighth, completing a double points finish for TRIDENT.
Despite finishing only fifth, Tsolov emerged from Saturday’s race with his championship advantage strengthened.
The Bulgarian now leads the Drivers’ Championship on 171 points, with Minì remaining second on 147 after failing to score.
Câmara’s retirement leaves the Brazilian third on 145 points, while Dunne sits fourth on 110 and León completes the top five with 99 points.
Campos Racing continue to lead the Teams’ Championship with 270 points, ahead of Invicta Racing on 198 and MP Motorsport on 182.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s Feature Race, where Câmara will have an immediate opportunity to respond to his Sprint Race disappointment.
The Brazilian starts from pole alongside Saturday’s winner Duerksen, completing an all-Invicta front row at Monza.
Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
