Joshua Dürksen, to AM850.com: “2026 will be there to try to ensure a future in F1”

The Paraguayan pilot spoke about his complicated 2025, the time he lost due to the lack of results, his great objective in F2 by 2026 and the goal of reaching the highest category.

Nothing did the present of Joshua Dürksen in Formula 2, especially after his brilliant start in Melbourne, with victory in the Sprint race. With the cancellation of the long competition of Australia for the fallen flood, the Paraguayan went from the first date as leader of the tournament. In the second appointment, the Aix pilot got on the podium on Baréin’s Saturday, but a while later was excluded by a technical anomaly of the car. After that, everything was Barranca down. The dallara performance of the Emirati team went to Pique and Joshua onhebro eight competitions without scoring. In fact, he added ten units in the first race of Australia and then barely reaped 13 in the next 18 … Before Monza’s career, which will be the 11th of the year, Dürksen spoke with AM850.com and made a balance of the season.

“We started the year very well, with the victory in Australia and the Baréin podium, which unfortunately took it away. We started very strong and we were very confident that we were going to do a good task during the tournament. But unfortunately we began to lose pace with respect to the others from Yeda, there everything began to go down. We have no clear answers from why. We believe that the other teams improved much more and found a good town and we were stagnant. In 2024 we had a very good performance, but I think it was because it was a new car and we found a good base quickly and the rest was more difficult. This year they are all more solid and found developments and we stayed a little behind. There were yield peaks in which we were going back to the game, but no. In the rain we are definitely better than dry. The two times with water I was close and fighting, but dry a lot. The rain is a career of improvisation, it is more the pilot to discover the limit of the car and the correct line. And adapt in each return to changing conditions. Dry is so much that it is already perfectly known how to drive, but there is nothing to discover. I always felt good with a wet floor, from karting, it is a condition that goes with my style. ”The Asunceño said.

-Mastima that every time the FIA ​​rains for everything quickly, maybe they are more careful than it would correspond.

-The FIA ​​is being careful with the rain, it seems correct because these cars raise a lot of spray, it’s okay to wait, but anyway they send us with more rain than F1. I think it is acceptable with the amount of water they send to us, but with the F1 sometimes they wait too long.

-You were talking about the development of the car, how much does a slow companion like Cian Shields have to find a different path in the car?

-What I learned since last year is that with a fast partner you learn and develop much more. In 2024 he was with Taylor Barnard and it was a constant competition to know who was better. That prompted us to improve as pilots and give more feedback to engineers. Ciam is difficult to adapt to F2, being its first year, each circuit is new and must be adapted first to the track. Taylor, on the other hand, already knew them all and is very fast and talented, today it is seen how it goes in Formula E. Yes, it is more difficult because if you want to try new things in the car, we basically depend on my feedbak because he is adapting to the track and the car. By having this situation, instead of having two chances of trying things, you have only one. The other teams can try two different things at the same time and have the answer. We have a change at the same time and that complicates us already makes it difficult for me to find improvements in my management or balance of the car. Sometimes it happens to me that I feel that I did a very good turn and I am very far in time and I have no references to know where to improve. Then I have to be creative, adapt and find possible ideas and solutions where I can improve management. It is quite difficult, but you have to give CIAM time to adapt to everything. It is a great jump from F3 to F2.

-Your career was on the rise and the horizon was for everything up, this fall in how much the plans for your career?

-Lot. Minimum, a year and a half. The F1 does not forgive anything, you do or do not take and throw you. They have no compassion in that regard. I came with good results and yields and there were interest in starting a joint work by 2026, but these results affected and the talks stopped at the moment. It really affects me a lot and hopefully we can resume with results and finish the year well and show that I am there. I think I demonstrated that I am capable and that I have the ability to be there, I simply had adverse situations that did not allow me to show results.

-In 2026 you will continue in F2 with another team?

-It’s the idea. Aix already has the full seats and there is no place for me. We need a fresh air, change equipment and have new ideas. We have very good proposals for several shields, we continue to analyze and see which is the best option. But it will be a better team than the current one. I continue in negotiations.

-Not having a place in Aix is ​​because they were already fixed, because you were not going to continue, because you didn’t want to?

-The goes from both sides. Since I had several dates with bad results, we thought about next year and said we planned a team change. They asked us, but at that time we were in talks with F1 and with the hope that something would be completed and that it would not be necessary to do another year with Aix. We told them that we could not confirm anything and they said that they already wanted to confirm the pilots for next year, then we let each one be on their side. In the middle of the year they already had their pilots by 2026 and we already talked to others. It was something mutual, it made no sense to continue a year together. The good relationship continues and we are working to do the best this year in what is left. On Monday after Abu Dhabi each one will continue on their side and the postseason trials of F2 I will do them with the new team.

-F2 budgets remain the same or did they increase?

-Not stop getting up, it is impressive. It depends on each team, but there is a trend in general, not only in F2, also in F4, regional formula, F3, all are uploading. I imagine that it will be for inflation, but for the pilots it is very painful to see how prices upload. It was already unpayable and now it is more unpayable, they make our lives more difficult to get the entire budget. They are very high prices to finance.

-Can it be that it is in 2.5 million euros the season?

-It is a good average, it is usually variable according to the equipment. But on average, between two and three million euros.

-Is the idea to have everything closed in the break between Azerbaijan and Qatar, which is two months?

-The goal is that, in September, after Baku, we want to have something closed and already be calm that I have the seat for the following year.

-They in mind the lost time you counted, next year there is nothing other than fighting the title?

-Exact, with the results of now it will be very difficult to get something with an F1 team for next year. That is why there will be there for 2026 and there, try to ensure a future in F1. We want to improve this year, but I want to use the experience to perform well in 2026.

-Who is champion this year?

-I think Leonardo Fornaroli. It started more or less, but now it is starting to fly and the undefeated goes very fast with Roman Stanek too. I think it will be Fornaroli First, Richard Verschoor Segundo, Jak Crawford Third and Alex Dunne Fourth.

-Fornaroli had not won a career for four years, he was champion of F3 without winning and now celebrated in three of the last six. Did you take the taste?

-I supposed that when he achieved a victory he would unlock another level and win again. He had something mental that affected him to take four years without winning, that will have affected him a lot. That triumph unlocked him, he took out a false belief and now frees his talent more.