Joshua Dürksen

Joshua Dürksen (; born 27 October 2003) is a Paraguayan racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for AIX Racing.

Dürksen previously raced for Arden in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2022 and 2023. He is a race-winner in FIA Formula 2 and Italian F4.

Early life

Joshua Dürksen was born in Asunción on 27 October 2003. He is of German descent, his great-grandfather being an immigrant who came to Paraguay escaping World War II. His parents are originally from the Paraguayan Chaco. He has one brother.

Career

Karting

Dürksen's karting career is relatively undisclosed, although it is known that he took part in his first international karting race in 2017 during the Rotax Max Challenge, where he became the first Paraguayan to reach the final.

Formula 4

2018

Dürksen was selected as a finalist in a bid to compete in the 2018 French F4 Championship, but did not make it through.

2019

In 2019 Dürksen made his single-seater debut, racing for Mücke Motorsport in the Formula 4 UAE Championship alongside Nico Göhler. He scored his first single-seater victory during the first round of the championship at the Dubai Autodrome. He then took
a double win during the next round in Yas Marina, being embroiled in a close fight with rival Matteo Nannini. Dürksen won once in the next Dubai round, but a winless round 4 that yielded only one podium allowed Nannini to pull away with the standings lead. Despite this, Dürksen won one more race during the final round, meaning that he finished 68 points behind his rival.

Dürksen then competed in both the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championships, remaining with Mücke Motorsport in the former but switching to ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg for the latter campaign. He won a race in his debut round at Vallelunga in Italian F4, picking up the win after Roman Staněk and Gianluca Petecof were penalised ahead. He would finish third the next day, capping off a successful start to the season. Two more podiums followed in Austria and in Mugello, as he completed the season eighth in the standings. In ADAC F4, Dürksen started the campaign with a second-place rostrum at the Oschersleben; a further third place later in the season in Hockenheim lead to him finishing eleventh in the standings.

2020

The following year Dürksen returned to the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg on a full-time basis, whilst also racing in three rounds of Italian F4. After a podium in the opening Lausitzring round, Dürksen broke his duck the next round at the Nürburgring where he won the final race. This was followed with back-to-back victories as he was able to clinch the win from pole position in the first Hockenheimring race. Consistent points finishes, including three more podium finishes in the final four rounds lead Dürksen finishing sixth in the drivers' standings, with six podiums and 191 points.

In Italian F4, Dürksen won the very first race of his campaign at the Red Bull Ring, where after taking pole position, he sailed to a comfortable victory. A second place podium in the third race and four more points scoring finishes placed him 13th in the championship.

2021

Dürksen returned to the Italian F4 Championship in 2021 with BWT Mücke Motorsport for a third and final season. Dürksen failed to make the podium during the first half of the season, but rebounded during the penultimate round in Mugello where he secured a double victory. With an additional podium in the final round in Monza, He improved to sixth in the final standings and won two races at the Mugello round.

Euroformula Open

Dürksen also made a one-off appearance in the third-tier Euroformula Open Championship for Drivex School at the Hungaroring, accomplishing a podium on debut.

Formula Regional European Championship

2022

Despite initial difficulties to secure the necessary funding, Dürksen was able to make the step up to the Formula Regional European Championship in 2022, partnering fellow Latin Americans Eduardo Barrichello and Noel León at Arden Motorsport. He declared his dream of making it to Formula One was "more alive than ever". He scored his first points of the season in Imola, and a run of five consecutive points finishes late in the season put Dürksen 14th in the standings, with 40 points.

2023

During the 2023 pre-season, Dürksen joined the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Hyderabad Blackbirds by MP Motorsport, from the second round onwards. He took pole for the first race of the second round in Kuwait, but was taken out in a collision with Dino Beganovic and teammate Sami Meguetounif. Despite this, Dürksen rebounded in the third race by taking his first Formula Regional podium. He repeated this feat of taking a pole the next round in the second Kuwait round, but similar fortunes followed as he once again collided with Meguetounif. He finished 16th in the standings, with 29 points.

For his main campaign, Dürksen remained with Arden Motorsport for the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship. After failing to score in the opening three rounds, Dürksen made his mark in Spa-Francorchamps, taking his first FRECA podium in a wet race 2 marred by the fatal accident of Dilano van 't Hoff. Dürksen only managed two more points finishes throughout the rest of the season in Paul Ricard and Zandvoort, as he finished the season 19th in the standings, five places lower than the previous year.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Dürksen drove for PHM Racing during the 2023 Formula 3 post-season test in Imola.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

2024

In November 2023, it was announced that Dürksen would drive in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship for PHM AIX Racing, partnering FIA Formula 3 graduate Taylor Barnard. Dürksen failed to score points in the opening three rounds, but came close multiple times to reach the points-paying positions. His breakthrough came in Imola, by qualifying in an impressive fifth. Despite being involved in a first-lap multi car incident during the sprint race, Dürksen claimed the first points and podium for a Paraguayan driver in any international Formula 2 category, with a third-place finish in the feature race. Monaco was disappointing, as a poor qualifying left him at the back and was given a grid penalty for causing a collision with Zane Maloney in the feature race. The Barcelona feature race was a missed opportunity for Dürksen, as his engine expired on lap 17 while he ran in the race lead on the alternate strategy from seventh. Dürksen secured a front row start in Austria. He scored decent points in the races, placing eighth in the sprint and sixth in the feature race.

A disappointing weekend in Silverstone where he spun after battling Ritomo Miyata for the final points position in the sprint, while his feature race was curtailed early after an incident with Paul Aron. He returned to the points in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race, scoring a point in tenth. Dürksen returned to the podium in the Monza sprint race, where he fought his way from tenth to finish in third place. In the feature race, he demonstrated strong pace once again and a strong start allowed him to finish in fifth place. at the start this time in the Sprint Race held at Monza, where he finished again in the third position. In Baku, Dürksen managed to score his maiden Formula 2 win, having overcame Christian Mansell and Gabriele Minì mid-race, becoming the first Paraguayan driver to win in any international Formula 2 category. He secured a fifth place the next day in the feature race, concluding his successful weekend.

In Qatar, Dürksen managed to score a point from 16th on the grid in the sprint race, but an unlucky safety car timing whilst running on the alternate strategy left him empty-handed the next day. Dürksen qualified ninth in Yas Marina, and fought for the top positions in the sprint race, but was eliminated in a collision with Amaury Cordeel. Despite that, Dürksen sought redemption in the feature race, as he fought way past Gabriel Bortoleto to take his first feature race victory. His late run of form meant Dürksen finished tenth in the standings, with 87 points, two wins and four podiums.

2025

Dürksen remained with AIX Racing for the 2025 season, partnering Cian Shields.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

 – Driver did not finish the race but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dürksen, Joshua
2003 births
Living people
Paraguayan racing drivers
German racing drivers
Mücke Motorsport drivers
Italian F4 Championship drivers
ADAC Formula 4 drivers
Formula Regional European Championship drivers
Arden International drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
Drivex drivers
UAE F4 Championship drivers
MP Motorsport drivers
Sportspeople from Asunción
Paraguayan people of German descent
Formula Regional Middle East Championship drivers
FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers
AIX Racing drivers
PHM Racing drivers
21st-century German sportsmen
21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen