Joshua Durksen made the step up to Formula 2 for his debut season in the category in 2024.
The Paraguayan driver is driving with AIX Racing after making the step up from FRECA, where he spent the previous two years.
Durksen began his career in 2019 where he finished second in the Formula 4 UAE Championship and also competed in ADC Formula 4 and Italian F4.
After spending another two years in Italian F4 – finishing 13th in 2020 and sixth in 2021 – the 20-year-old moved onto FRECA with Arden Motorsport in 2022.
In his first season, Durksen scored 40 points and finished 14th in the standings, while in 2023, despite grabbing one podium, he finished with 26 points and down in 19th.
Joshua Durksen pinpoints the ‘many procedures’ for a car to work as the ‘most difficult’ thing in Formula 2
Despite a disappointing second year in FRECA, Durksen moved up to Formula 2 with AIX Racing, and his struggles continued at the start of the season as he registered one points finish from the first six rounds; that being his maiden podium at the Feature Race in Imola.
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After a double points finish in Austria, Durksen went five races without a point before finding himself on a streak of five points finishes in a row.
Included in those points finishes is two fastest laps and two podiums, one of which being his first F2 win at the Sprint Race in Baku.
Speaking with Formula Latina, having skipped Formula 3 and moved straight to F2, the 20-year-old discussed what has been his biggest challenge since joining the category.
“Well actually several things, but what I think was most difficult for me is all the procedures that exist in Formula 2 compared to the regional Formula 3, that is for the car to work.
“Well in Formula 2 you have to follow many procedures, for example, the form when you warm up the tire, the brake has to be at such a temperature, this and that, so that it can work well in the cool.
“In Formula 4, it was rather good to go out and do a warm-up lap and push, right, there wasn’t much of a secret.
“In Formula 2, yes one has to be much more precise, even with these things that one thinks are not going to affect during the lap, right? But in the end they do have an effect, they make a difference.”
Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar are fighting for the Formula 2 title
Durksen’s recent form has moved him up to 13th in the standings with two rounds of the championship to go, having registered 61 points.
Gabriel Bortoleto currently leads the standings by four and a half points over Isack Hadjar, having benefitted from his rival’s poor run of form to take the lead from him in Baku.
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Hadjar has scored points once in the last seven races – a win at Budapest – while Bortoleto’s consistency has allowed him to catch up as he has failed to score points only twice in the last 18 races.
With Qatar and Abu Dhabi still to come, the F2 championship is very much up for grabs and set to go down to the wire.