Joshua Duerksen opened the 2026 Formula 2 season exactly where he left off. The Paraguayan driver won the Melbourne Sprint Race in dominant fashion for Invicta Racing, copy-pasting his result from last year on the same track. Noel León delivered a composed run to second for Campos. Alexander Dunne completed a brilliant recovery drive from eighth on the grid to take third for Rodin Motorsport, promoted to the podium after Martinius Stenshorne’s post-race penalty dropped the Norwegian out of the top ten.
Key Points – F2 Australian GP 2026 Sprint Race
- Duerksen wins from P2 for Invicta Racing, his second consecutive Melbourne Sprint victory.
- León P2 for Campos, Dunne promoted to P3 for Rodin after Stenshorne’s five-second penalty.
- Safety Car on Lap 15 after Boya crashes at Turn 6, triggering a tyre gamble for several drivers.
- Stenshorne penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Tsolov on Lap 1.
- Maini spins at Turn 11 on the opening lap after a dive for fourth, drops down the order.
- Dunne’s three-wide move at Turn 4 on Lap 21 one of the passes of the race.
Start and Early Laps
Inthraphuvasak nailed the launch and covered off Duerksen into Turn 1 to hold the lead. It was a clean getaway from the ART driver, but it didn’t last long. Goethe swept around the outside to take second at the same corner, and Duerksen was already hunting.
The first flashpoint came at Turn 9. Duerksen drove back through on Goethe, retook second, and set about closing the gap to the leader. Maini tried his own move at Turn 11 and paid the price immediately. A spin on corner exit dropped him down the order and out of the early fight.
By Lap 2 Duerksen had DRS and used it. He swept into the lead into Turn 9. Câmara pulled a double overtake at Turn 11 to briefly jump to fourth, but León cleared him before the lap was done. Dunne was working his way forward from P8. The field was already pulling apart at the seams.
Stenshorne moved on Tsolov at Turn 1 on Lap 3. Dunne followed through at Turn 3. But Stenshorne’s pass was completed off the circuit. Race Control noted it and a five-second penalty followed. Tsolov, heading in the wrong direction early on, would later suffer contact from Herta at Turn 4 on Lap 8 and drop to P19.
Mid-Race – León Climbs, Dunne Builds
León moved to third on Lap 4, clearing Maini cleanly. The Campos driver had been patient and the move stuck. Stenshorne moved through on Câmara at Turn 3 on Lap 6 to take fourth. Câmara fought straight back with DRS into Turn 9 to reclaim the position. The pair traded places repeatedly as tyre management started to shape the order.
Minì had started from P21 and was charging. By halfway he was seventh, picking off positions methodically. His Lap 13 pass on Dunne at Turn 11 moved him to sixth and put him in the frame for the points fight ahead.
The Safety Car arrived on Lap 15. Boya was in the barriers at the exit of Turn 6. Several drivers gambled on a switch to the Supersoft tyre, Herta the highest-placed at P15 to make the stop. For those who stayed out it was a chance to reset, regroup, and build tyre temperature for the restart.
Final Laps – Dunne’s Move, Stenshorne’s Penalty
Duerksen led the field back to green on Lap 19 and nailed the restart. He built a comfortable gap across the line immediately and León locked in second behind him.
DRS re-enabled and León pounced. A dive into Turn 11 on Lap 20 put him past Inthraphuvasak for second. The ART driver was slipping backwards as tyre life began to tell.
Lap 21 produced the moment of the race. Stenshorne, Minì and Dunne all cleared Câmara in the first sector. Then Dunne set up a three-wide move at Turn 4, diving down the inside of the MP and Invicta cars to take fifth in one of the boldest passes of the afternoon.
Minì ran wide at Turn 10 on the penultimate lap and dropped to seventh. Miyata made a late charge into the points. Montoya crossed the line ninth for Prema. On the final lap Stenshorne took P3 on the road at Turn 1 before Dunne produced another switchback at Turn 3 to take fourth from the ART driver.
It didn’t matter for Stenshorne. The five-second penalty from Lap 1 dropped him to P10. Dunne was promoted to the podium. Duerksen crossed the line unchallenged to take the first win of the 2026 F2 season.
“Very happy to win the first race of the season. Copy-paste from last year, also starting second, so it was a good race. First time with the Softs, so we had to manage a little bit, but I think we got good data and good speed, so I’m super happy and super thankful with everyone. Super blessed to be here, see you tomorrow!”
Joshua Duerksen – Invicta Racing
Sprint Race Result
Championship Picture
Duerksen leads the Drivers’ Championship on 10 points after round one. León is second on eight, Dunne third on six. Inthraphuvasak and Miyata round out the top five on five and four points respectively.
In the Teams’ Championship, Invicta lead on 10 points. Campos sit second on eight with Rodin third on seven. ART Grand Prix are fourth on five, Hitech fifth on four.
Coffee Corner Take
Duerksen picked up exactly where he left off. Same circuit. Same result. A different season but the same Paraguayan driver at the front of an Invicta car with nobody able to touch him. The restart was the moment where a lesser driver might have let the gap slip. He didn’t. He built it instead and made the final laps a formality.
León was controlled throughout. Patient when he needed to be, aggressive when the opportunity arrived. His Turn 11 move on Lap 20 to take second was perfectly timed and the sort of move that wins points over a long season.
Dunne’s afternoon was the best story of the race. P8 to P3. Three-wide at Turn 4. A switchback on the final lap. He got everything out of the car and then got the bonus of Stenshorne’s penalty on top. The Irishman will head into the Feature Race with momentum and confidence.
Stenshorne’s penalty was the subplot that kept giving. The move on Tsolov looked marginal live and Race Control agreed after the fact. Five seconds cost him a podium finish and handed Rodin their best possible result on the opening weekend.
Tsolov’s day fell apart through no real fault of his own. Contact with Herta dropped him to P19 before he’d had a chance to show what the Campos car could do. An afternoon to forget quickly before Sunday.
Minì’s charge from P21 was the drive of the midfield. Up to sixth before a wide moment on the penultimate lap undid some of the work. There is pace in that MP Motorsport package and he showed it from the moment the lights went out.
Round one done. Duerksen leads. Invicta lead. The Feature Race on Sunday will tell us a lot more about who else has the pace to challenge them across a full race distance.
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