The 22 year old Frenchwoman completed 76 laps at Silverstone in the 2021 W12, her performance impressed the Brackley team, she is the 2025 F1 Academy champion and is now a Development Driver for the German team.
The Mercedes team not only gave Doriane Pin kilometers in a Formula 1 car, it gave her a working context, technical exposure and a public signal of trust, that is the subtle point of the matter, the Brackley team has been building the Frenchwoman as part of its development project, and this step fits perfectly with that logic.
Since Friday April 17, 2026, Pin can say that she drove a Formula 1 car, she did it at Silverstone, at the wheel of the 2021 Mercedes W12, in a session that had much more value than a simple postcard for social media. According to the team itself, her performance impressed in terms of pace, feedback and technical understanding, the 22 year old Frenchwoman thus became the first woman to drive a Mercedes F1 car and also the first F1 Academy champion to complete a test with a top category car.
Mercedes chose the Silverstone National circuit for the test, a 2.639 kilometer track, a short but useful layout for a driver to accumulate repetitions, understand procedures and gain confidence: Pin completed 76 laps, equivalent to 200 kilometers, on her first contact with a modern F1 car. The car was not just any car, the W12 was the Mercedes that allowed the team to win the 2021 Constructors' Cup.
Before getting in, Pin spent considerable time in the team's simulator and worked with engineers to understand routines, systems and specific car procedures, this prior preparation was highlighted by Mercedes as a central part of the test. Andrew Shovlin, the team's engineering director, emphasized that the Frenchwoman was professional, well prepared and comfortable from the first laps.
Pin herself made clear the emotional dimension of the moment, she said that driving an F1 car for the first time was "unreal", that she tried to "enjoy the opportunity to the fullest" and that, at the same time, she "wanted to do the best possible job." She also explained that the W12 felt very different from everything she had driven before, "bigger and more powerful" and that she built confidence lap by lap.
After being crowned F1 Academy champion in 2025, clinching the title in Las Vegas, the Frenchwoman started 2026 as a Development Driver for Mercedes. Additionally, the team placed her as a mentor for its F1 Academy driver this season, American Payton Westcott. Mercedes also confirmed at the end of March that Pin will add a role this year as a Development Driver within Peugeot's WEC program, with simulator work and participation planned for the Bahrain rookie test.
In an era where too many times opportunities are talked about as if they were conference slogans, Mercedes put Doriane Pin in a world champion car and let her work. We'll see how far she goes, for now, the hard fact is already written: Pin has driven an F1 car, and she did so leaving a serious impression on one of the heaviest teams on the paddock.