The 2025 F1 Academy season saw Doriane Pin cement her place as one of motorsport’s rising stars. Driving for PREMA Racing under the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS umbrella, the French driver claimed the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship, showcasing consistency, speed, and tactical brilliance across a fiercely competitive calendar.
A strong start
After losing out on the Championship in 2024 to Abbi Pulling, Qualifying in Shanghai was a frustrating way to begin her season, only missing out on pole position by almost five tenths to Maya Weug.
However, only seconds into Race 2, she set the tone on what the rest of her season would entail. Capitalising on a rolling start, she executed a daring move on the outside of Weug into Turn 1 and drove off into the distance. She took the Race 2 victory with 2 seconds clear, starting her season with a 5 point advantage in the Drivers’ Standings.
A test of composure Miami and points in Montreal
Miami proved to be a weekend that tested Pin in a unique way. The pace was there, but the challenging conditions and unpredictable track meant nothing came easily. Changing weather and tight battles through the field forced her to stay sharp lap after lap. Race 2 was cancelled and rescheduled for Canada, but she claimed victory in Race 1 after starting from P6 on the reverse-grid start.
Pin’s first F1 Academy weekend in Canada became the turning point in her title fight for 2025. With Maya Weug sidelined by a technical issue, Pin capitalised on the opportunity across the three-race format, seizing the momentum firmly in her favour.
In Race 1, she was right there to capitalise when polesitter Chloe Chambers and teammate Alisha Palmowski made contact. With the door suddenly wide open, Pin took full advantage and claimed the win, along with the championship lead. It was a position she would not give up for the rest of the season, holding onto it all the way to the final round in Las Vegas.
She followed that up with P4 in the reverse grid Race 2, before securing her fifth podium of the year in Race 3. That race could have easily ended differently, as she narrowly avoided contact between Palmowski and Ella Lloyd, escaping without damage and keeping her weekend intact. By the time she left Montreal, Pin had outscored Weug by 38 points and built a 20-point lead in the standings, putting herself firmly in control of the championship fight.
Battling through Europe
As the season moved through Europe, the battles got tighter. Weug was always pushing, sometimes matching her lap for lap, making the championship a real test of nerves. Pin didn’t just have to be fast, she had to think strategically, adapt to each track, and stay calm under pressure. She had podiums, big points finishes, and a few wins along the way that set her apart, showing her consistency was just as strong as her raw pace.
The title decider in Las Vegas
Everything for the 2025 F1 Academy season came down to the final weekend in Las Vegas, with the championship still on the line and only a handful of points separating Pin and Weug. The tension was high before a single racing lap had even been completed. Then came the dramatic moment that shifted everything. A collision on the formation lap of Race 1 ended Weug’s title hopes before the race had properly begun, swinging the momentum firmly in Pin’s favour.
From there, it was about staying calm and finishing the job. In Race 2, Pin crossed the line in fifth while Chloe Chambers took the victory. It was not a flashy, race-winning moment, but it did not need to be. Over the course of the season, she had already done the hard work. Fifth place was enough to secure the championship by 15 points, sealing a title that had been built on consistency, composure, and smart racing from start to finish.
2026 and beyond
After winning the 2025 F1 Academy title, Doriane Pin is taking the next step in her career by moving into endurance racing. She will contest the 2026 European Le Mans Series with Duqueine Team, competing in the LMP2 Pro/Am class in the No.30 Oreca.
Pin is no stranger to the series, having previously raced in 2022 in the LMGTE class with Iron Lynx, where she scored one win and one podium. Her 2026 campaign kicks off with the 4 Hours of Barcelona on April 12, and the six-round season will also include Le Castellet, Imola, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone, before finishing in Portimão.
She has also graduated from the Mercedes Junior Driver Development Programme and steps into a Development Driver role for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team for 2026.
With her F1 Academy experience and prior endurance racing success, Pin will be one to watch as she adapts to the challenges of multi-class racing and longer stints behind the wheel.
