Joshua Dürksen has completed his first Formula One test, becoming the first Paraguayan driver to get behind the wheel of a modern F1 car. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Development Driver spent two days at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, running the team’s 2025 title-winning W16 E Performance. 187 laps. 875 kilometres. Close to three Grand Prix distances covered across the two days.
Key Points: Joshua Dürksen F1 Test
- Dürksen becomes the first Paraguayan to test a modern Formula One car
- Two-day test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão
- Drove Mercedes’ 2025 race-winning W16 E Performance
- Completed 187 laps, 875 kilometres, nearly three Grand Prix distances
- Programme focused on systems understanding and performance running
- Continues alongside his 2026 Formula 2 campaign and Development Driver simulator work
A Historic Milestone
Dürksen became the first Paraguayan driver to officially join an F1 team’s programme earlier this year. Portimão adds to that: the first person from his country to drive a modern Formula One car. Across the two days he worked closely with the team’s engineers, building his understanding of the systems and completing performance runs in the W16.
“This is a day, and a week, that I will remember for the rest of my life. Driving a Formula One car for the first time is something every young driver dreams about, and to do that as the first Paraguayan to reach this milestone makes it even more special.”
Joshua Dürksen, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
He was equally direct about what the car itself demanded of him. The performance, the braking, the cornering speeds, all of it a step up from anything he has driven before, and 187 laps gave him plenty of it to process.
“Getting behind the wheel of the W16 was an unbelievable experience. The performance, the braking, the cornering speeds: everything is on another level. I learned a huge amount over the two days and enjoyed every lap.”
Joshua Dürksen, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
The Road So Far
Dürksen has worked his way through the junior categories into Formula 2, where he has taken multiple wins and podiums and run consistently at the front of the field. The Development Driver role with Mercedes has run alongside that, simulator work and engineering support building toward exactly this kind of test.
Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord pointed to the way Dürksen handled the two days as much as the milestone itself.
“He approached the programme with maturity, professionalism and a real desire to learn. Over the two days he worked effectively with the engineering team, developed his confidence progressively and delivered exactly what we were hoping to see from him.”
Bradley Lord, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
The test sits alongside his ongoing Formula 2 season and Development Driver duties, another step up the ladder for a 22-year-old already carrying a country’s first with him.
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