Mercedes junior Doriane Pin wins her maiden F1 Academy race in Saudi Arabia
Mercedes Junior driver Doriane Pin kicked off her 2024 F1 Academy campaign with a victory on debut, continuing her dominance at the Jeddah Corniche circuit after securing a double pole in qualifying.
Pin was fastest in the practice session and displayed her blistering speed in the qualifying session, taking double pole position. Navigating the 27-corner high-speed circuit seamlessly, the Mercedes junior driver appeared to be in a league of her own.
Doriane Pin rolled off pole position in Race 1 on Friday, March 8, which was contested over 13 laps on the 3.8-mile (6.174km) circuit. The race got away without any chaos on the street circuit, with Apline-backed Abbi Pulling and Ferrari junior Maya Weug close on her heels.
Wildcard entrant Reema Juffali spun on lap three triggering a Safety Car, while Pin retained her lead on the restart. She maintained a one-second lead over her nearest competitor Pulling throughout the race to take the checkered flag and win her maiden F1 Academy race.
Abbi Pulling took home a second-place finish, 0.842s behind the winner while Weug took the final podium spot, seven seconds behind the leader.
Haas-backed driver Chloe Chambers was classified fourth, and Lola Lovinfosse rounded out the top five finishers. McLaren-backed driver Bianca Bustamante took sixth place after reporting a puncture early in the race. Aston Martin junior driver Tina Hausmann finished in seventh place.
Puma-backed Aurelia Nobels took an eighth-place finish while Red Bull-backed Hamda Al Qubaisi was classified ninth and Sauber’s Carrie Schreiner took the final points-paying position.
Tommy Hilfiger backed Nerea Marti and Williams backed Lia Block, daughter of late Rally driver Ken Block, both failed to finish the race.
Mercedes' boss excited to see Doriane Pin representing the Silver Arrows
Earlier this year, Mercedes onboarded Doriane Pin to their Junior Team. The 20-year-old French talent was announced as the driver for Prema Racing in the F1 Academy series with the backing of the Silver Arrows.
Pin also competes in the World Endurance Championship with the Iron Dames outfit. The 20-year-old has an impressive racing resume, having raced in WEC's LMP2 category, European Le Mans Series, Renault Clio Cup and GT3 series, and was also the winner of the Ferrari Challenge Europe in 2022.
Wolff was excited to welcome Doriane Pin to the team in early January as he said in a press release:
"Doriane is an exciting talent and we’re pleased to begin our participation in F1 Academy with her as our chosen driver. We have kept a close eye on her development in recent years as she has consistently impressed."
He added about her experience at WEC:
"The fantastic support of Deborah Mayer and the Iron Dames organization has enabled her to display her abilities to this point; she has taken full advantage of that opportunity with determination and skill."
Doriane Pin has gotten off to a strong start, taking a double pole in Saudi Arabia and clinching race victory in her first race. She starts in pole position for Race 2 scheduled for March 9, 12 pm UK time (7 am ET).