Joshua Duerksen: My Ultimate Driver

AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen is the latest driver we tasked with creating the ultimate racing driver from scratch.

The Paraguayan driver picked out multiple World Champions in the process, along with several other traits he says are vital to being quick and successful.

INTELLIGENCE

“I think intelligence…this is difficult. I would say Lando Norris. I think he doesn’t make any crazy moves and he’s quite smart.”

DRIVING IN THE WET

“Max Verstappen. That one’s straightforward. He’s the best in the rain. Brazil 2016, 2024 and many more, he’s unstoppable.”

QUALIFYING

“Max again. It’s really crazy. With the car he has, he always performs well and it’s weird that he does a bad lap or doesn’t perform well.”

CORNERING

“Charles Leclerc. He’s pretty good always so I think he’s a good reference in the high-speed corners.”

TYRE MANAGEMENT

“Sergio Perez! He makes his tyres last ages.”

RISK TAKING

“Max! He just doesn’t care, he’ll send it and has the bravery to just do it.”

SMOOTH OR AGGRESSIVE

“Lewis Hamilton is a good example. I think his driving style and steering input is quite smooth and clean. I prefer a smooth driving style, I’ve always driven like that and feel comfortable driving like that. I have a better feel for the car that way. It’s just instinct, unconscious mind seeing details that you wouldn’t otherwise.”

OVERTAKING ABILITY

“Max again… No let me think of another driver. Fernando Alonso. He’s always good overtaking-wise.”

DEFENDING

“I’d go with Michael Schumacher. He was always aggressive depending on the situation and more often than not did a good job of it.”

ANYTHING ELSE?

“Emotions under control. If you get crazy just because someone pushes you off and you’re made the rest of the race - you need to keep your emotions under control or you won’t perform. You can still drive well and not make mistakes by wanting to push more and get revenge just because you’re angry. You also need precision, focus and the ability to really feel the car.”