{
  "id": 15212682,
  "title": "Mercedes shares emotional call between Joshua Durksen and Paraguay president",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/mercedes-shares-emotional-call-between-joshua-durksen-and-paraguay",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T14:15:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motorsport.com",
    "slug": "motorsport-com",
    "url": "https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-shares-emotional-call-between-joshua-durksen-and-paraguay-president/10865884/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Paraguayan president Santiago Pena made a heartfelt phone call to Mercedes development driver Joshua Durksen to congratulate him on his first Formula 1 test. The call marked a special moment for both the young driver and his country. Only the second Paraguayan to drive a modern F1 car, Durksen spent two days testing Mercedes' W16 at the Portimao circuit. The intense moment for Durksen came with a message of encouragement and pride from Pena: \"Joshua, I'm really excited. This is your dream, it's my dream, it's the dream of millions of Paraguayans who are truly proud of everything you're accomplishing.\" Durksen reflected on the call, saying: \"To come from a country that many people think we're a small country and that maybe we cannot do a lot of stuff, to reaching the top of motorsport and driving a Formula 1 car... I think it's a clear message, especially to my people, that we are allowed to dream, that we can dream big and that we can accomplish these dreams.\" Fans of the driver expressed their delight for Durksen, with one fan commenting: \"What pride for all of Paraguay! Let's go, Joshua, if you can!!!\"",
  "summary": "Mercedes has shared the moment Paraguay's president, Santiago Pena, phoned development driver Joshua Durksen to congratulate him on his first Formula 1 test. \"A very special call. Santiago Pena, president of Paraguay, made sure to congratulate Josh on his first F1 run. A proud moment for the country,\" Mercedes posted alongside footage of the video call. The clip comes from a ... Keep reading",
  "key_points": [
    "Paraguayan president congratulates Mercedes driver Joshua Durksen",
    "Durksen becomes second Paraguayan to test modern F1 car",
    "President's call emphasizes dream and pride for Paraguay"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}