Doriane Pin: Mercedes junior driver who dominated her F1 Academy debut weekend

Doriane Pin should have had the perfect debut weekend in F1 Academy, with two pole positions in Jeddah — each by over six-tenths of a second — in the opening round of the 2024 championship. She then led from lights out to the chequered flag in Race 1 and Race 2.

It was a meteoric arrival for the 20-year-old French driver, who has already been tipped to go far, after impressive performances in sports car racing, but ended with an unusual penalty that left the weekend’s stand-out star lying third in the championship standings.

At the end of the second race, Pin had failed to spot the chequered flag, being waved from behind a light board at the start/finish line, and continued at full pace. A radio message to her Prema team, asking how many laps were remaining went unanswered.

She continued for the full lap, driving past the pitlane entrance where she was supposed to leave the track, and only slowed when marshals were told to wave red flags. As a result of the potentially serious implications — competitors typically wave to fans and thank marshals, while officials and other vehicles may join the circuit after taking the chequered flag — a 20sec penalty was imposed, dropping her to ninth place.

Given her first race, though, the incident looks likely to be a mere hurdle for her title hopes.

Unlike the majority of her peers who only have experience of the junior ranks, Pin has been racing in a professional capacity since 2021. As part of the Iron Lynx team’s all-female project, Iron Dames, she entered the 2021 Le Mans Cup, where she finished on the podium five times and then in the highly-competitive Ferrari Challenge, which she won in 2022, with nine victories in the 14-round season.

That season also saw Pin win the 24 Hours of Spa with Iron Dames and join the European Le Mans series with Iron Lynx, winning the final four-hour round at Portimao.

In 2023, Pin moved up to an LMP2 seat in the World Endurance Championship where she continued to impress, scoring a podium on debut at Sebring and becoming the first woman to win WEC’s coveted ‘Revelation of the Year’ Award.

Pin’s meteoric rise continued into 2024 as she joined the Mercedes Junior Team, following the likes of Esteban Ocon and George Russell, and made the switch to single-seaters. Racing in the Formula 4 South East Asian and UAE Championships, Pin scored multiple race victories and finished second overall in the former series.

At just 20 years old, Pin has one of the most comprehensive racing resumes on the F1 Academy grid. Could we be seeing the next female to race in F1? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the career of Doriane Pin so far.

2021 — Le Mans Cup

After claiming the 2019 French Karting Championship and a semi-successful campaign in the Renault Clio Cup the following year, Pin was called up by the Iron Dames to race in the 2021 Le Mans Cup.

Established in 2018 by former racing driver Deborah Mayer, the Iron Dames — who raced as the Iron Lynx team — were built to support women in their pursuit of a career in motor sport. Racing in the GT3 category at the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo, Pin scored five consecutive podiums for the team at Le Castellet, Monza, Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps — at times running close to Logan Sargeant who raced in the Iron Lynx sister car.

Racing alongside Sarah Bovy and Manuela Gostner, Pin’s Iron Lynx team ultimately finished third in the championship standings.

2022 — Ferrari Challenge Europe Series

Success for Pin reached new heights in 2022, as she moved to the highly competitive Ferrari Challenge Europe Series for a full season — once again supported by the Iron Dames.

Out of 14 rounds, the Frenchwoman scored nine victories, three podiums and never finished lower than fourth. Her competitors contained experienced drivers, such as John Wartique, Luka Nurmi, as well as the former F1 driver Adrian Sutil. None could prevent Pin from being crowned champion after the season finale in Imola having amassed a 55 point advantage in the drivers’ standings.

She was the only woman to take part in the series that year.

2023 — WEC and F4

Continuing her progress in the world of top-tier motor sport, Pin entered into the World Endurance Championship with Prema for 2023 in the LMP2 category — sharing a car with former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti.

The trio were immediately successful, claiming a podium finish on debut at the 1000 Miles of Sebring. Pole position at the following round in Portimao provided another highlight before the team then rounded out the season with a fifth-place finish in Bahrain.

Pin ultimately finished on level terms with Kvyat in the drivers’ standings (ninth place) and the No63 Prema car finished eighth in the team standings.

2023 was also the year in which Pin got her first taste of single-seater racing: entering the Formula 4 South East Asian and UAE Championships with the support of the Iron Dames.

She finished 10th on debut in the South East Asian Series in Sepang but gradually built her performances as the rounds went by: scoring three podiums and one win in the next five races. Pin ultimately finished a close second in the championship standings.

2024 — F1 Academy

After securing a double pole position and a dominant win in Race 1, Pin’s first weekend in F1 Academy went awry in Race 2 — despite her crossing the line first. She failed to see the chequered flag and completed another lap at racing speed before red flags were waved and she returned to the pits.

As a result, she received a post-race 20-second time penalty which dropped her down from first to ninth. Second-placed Briton Abbie Pulling — who ran a close second to Pin throughout the race weekend — inherited the victory.

The mistake was labelled a simple miscommunication, as while Pin failed to see the chequered flag — which was waved out of her line of sight — her team also failed to tell her the race was over. But it cost the Frenchwoman an initial lead in the drivers’ standings. Despite a near-perfect race weekend, she now sits third behind Pulling and Maya Weug.