Joshua Duerksen produced a masterclass in race craft to take Formula 2 Sprint Race success at Monza, amid a potential title-defining moment.
The Paraguayan quietly worked his way up to second place at the Temple of Speed before eventually taking the lead of Trident’s John Bennett, a lead he held across a race that saw two Safety Cars.
It was not all good news for Invicta, as the first of those two Safety Cars was triggered by title-chasing Rafael Camara stalling after being spun around by Nicolas Varrone in the early stages. Title rival Nikola Tsolov capitalised with fifth place.
Back in victory lane 😊#F2 #ItalianGP @JoshuaDuerksen1 pic.twitter.com/3XyGYsoJ8P
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) September 5, 2026
How the race unfolded
At the start, Bennett led away, and was left unchallenged as Goethe was bunched up into the Rettifilio, with Inthraphuvasak taking second place. The German tried to retake the position going into the Roggia chicane, but failed.
Duerksen and Martinius Stenshorne held fourth and fifth, with Tsolov taking sixth at the Parabolica, as title rival Camara dropped a couple of places and was now 10th.
Into Lap 3. Goethe opened up DRS to take second off Inthrapuvasak but the attempt left him vulnerable, and Duerksen benefitted by taking third on the exit of the Rettifilio. Stenshorne also got ahead, as Duerksen tried to go around the outside of Tsanapol Inthrapuvasak at Roggia, but had to take evasive action and give the place back.
A lap later, Duerksen tried again at Turn 1 but once again cut the chicane, and handed the place back to the Thai driver. Into Lap 5, Duerksen made the move stick legally this time. Behind, Feature Race polesitter Camara was spun around on the exit of the Rettifilio by Varrone as a bottleneck formed, with Tsolov and Alex Dunne in the thick of the action. The Brazilian, as he spun-turned the car around, stalled his Invicta, ending his race and bringing out the Safety Car, nullifying Bennett’s ever-growing lead.
The short Safety Car ended at the start of Lap 7, and Duerksen tried desperately to take the lead off Bennett but failed. Noel Leon took sixth, with Goethe this time the one to take track limits in pursuit of Inthrapuvasak.
Into Lap 9, Duerksen swept through into the lead into the Rettifilio, as Inthrapuvaskak began to form a train behind him, led by Goethe, but he was coming under extreme pressure from Stenshorne and surrendered fourth to him on the outside of the Rettifilio.
Inthrapuvasak missed his braking into Turn 1, and was forced to weave around the escape road, and by the end of the lap, lost sixth to Tsolov and then a lap later, dropped down to eighth behind Dunne.
Out front, Duerksen continued to hold the lead by half-a-second from Bennett, with Goethe now moving up to third ahead of Stenshorne, but skipped over the Roggia chicane after completing the move. Some equilibrium was beginning to form as the race drew to a close, but Roman Bilinski crashed after taking too much kerb on the exit of Ascari, bringing out the Safety Car.
At the restart, Duerksen held the lead, with Bennett second, Goethe third and Leon fourth. Stenshorne lost momentum on the exit of Roggia whilst defending from Tsolov, giving the Bulgarian fifth place. Into the final lap, Stenshorne tried around the outside of the Red Bull Junior at Rettifilio but had to give the place back after cutting the chicane.
No such problems for Duerksen, who led Bennett home with Sprint Race victory. Goethe completed the podium, with Leon fourth, Tsolov fifth, Stenshorne sixth and Dunne seventh.
Laurens van Hoepen, Miyata and Gabriele Mini rounded out the top 10, with Camara now banking on his front row advantage on Sunday to remedy his weekend.
READ MORE – F2 2026 Italian Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results
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