Invicta Racing enters the Formula 2 season as the reigning champions, and with one of the most promising talents in their lineup. The team has built its reputation around Gabriel Bortoleto’s 2024 and Lenoardo Fornaroli’s 2025 Drivers’ Championships.
Albert Park hosted the opener for the Formula 2 season, and Invicta Racing aimed to start the campaign strong. The Paraguayan driver, Joshua Dürksen, secured the first Sprint race win of the season, whereas the Brazilian rookie Rafael Câmara secured his first podium in Formula 2 for the team.
Free Practice: Invicta Racing’s Setup Baseline
The 45-minute Free Practice session marked the first competitive session of the season for the teams and drivers. Invicta Racing solidified a baseline setup around the fast and technical Albert Park circuit.
Dürksen and Câmara completed around 19 laps each, evaluating tyre warm-up and balance across the sectors of the track. Early indications showed that the Invicta car was particularly strong in traction zones and medium-speed corners.
Making his debut in Formula 2, Rafael Câmara set a time of 1:29.564, securing him a third position. Meanwhile, Joshua Dürksen set a final time of 1:29.974, positioning him in ninth.
By the end of the session, Invicta Racing had gathered valuable data that would prove crucial heading into the Qualifying session later on Friday.
Qualifying: encouraging qualifying pace
On the same Friday, teams and drivers prepared for the Qualifying that would set the starting grid for both the Sprint race and the Feature race. Invicta Racing demonstrated competitive one-lap pace as both drivers placed themselves in strong positions for the weekend’s races.
Their qualifying results meant the team entered Saturday with realistic hopes of scoring significant points.
Câmara’s lap placed him firmly in the fight near the front of the grid in sixth place, ensuring a strong starting position for the Feature Race. Dürksen’s ninth-place qualifying result proved particularly valuable due to the reverse-grid format used for the Sprint Race.
With the top ten reversed, the Paraguayan driver would start the Sprint Race from the front row in second position, creating a clear opportunity to fight for victory.
Sprint race: Dürksen converts a front-row into a victory
Saturday’s Sprint Race featured 23 laps around the Albert Park circuit and produced Invicta Racing’s first victory of the 2026 season.
Starting from P2 on the reversed grid, Joshua Dürksen immediately challenged for the lead during the opening phase of the race. Once in front, the Invicta driver maintained control of tyre degradation while building a stable gap to the chasing group.
In the end, Dürksen crossed the line to take the victory ahead of Noel León and Alex Dunne.
For Rafael Câmara, the race proved more challenging. The Brazilian started from P5 and was caught in the midfield battles. Ultimately, he dropped down the order and finished 11th, just outside the points.
Despite the result, his pace remained competitive throughout the race, providing encouraging signs heading into Sunday’s longer Feature Race.
Feature race: Câmara delivers a podium result
Sunday’s 33-lap Feature Race included a mandatory pit stop and offered the largest points reward of the weekend.
Rafael Câmara started from P6 based and executed a clean opening stint, maintaining a strong pace within the leading group. After the mandatory tyre change, the Brazilian continued to gain positions and by the closing stages of the race, he had moved into second place, ultimately finishing behind race winner Nikola Tsolov.
The result marked Câmara’s first podium in Formula 2, highlighting the rookie’s ability to manage the longer race format.
Joshua Dürksen started the race from P9 and ran inside the points during the early phase. After the pit stop cycle, he dropped slightly in the order but managed to recover to 10th place, securing the final point of the race and adding to the team’s tally.
