Doriane Pin may not have enjoyed the dominance she showed last season at the Dutch GP, but the Mercedes driver still came away with her remarkable F1 Academy podium streak intact. The Frenchwoman’s run of top-three finishes now stands at nine consecutive rounds, stretching back to this very circuit a year ago.
What happened to Pin at the Dutch GP?
Qualifying set the tone for a more difficult outing than Pin had anticipated. Having taken pole and victory at Zandvoort in 2024, expectations were high, but this time she could only manage fifth on the grid, almost three tenths down on Maya Weug’s pole time. Race 1 compounded her frustrations, with a tense duel against Chloe Chambers and a couple of small mistakes leaving Pin in sixth—her lowest finish of the F1 Academy season so far.
The second race of the weekend brought some respite. While home favourite Weug charged to victory in front of the Dutch fans, Pin kept her composure and returned to the rostrum after Ella Lloyd’s false start penalty promoted her to third.
Reviewing the weekend
Reflecting on the Dutch GP challenges, Pin admitted the F1 Academy weekend hadn’t gone to plan. While having a strong performance last year boosted her confidence, on track struggles didn’t allow for the win.
“We were quite competitive last year so obviously we were quite confident going into the race. We were struggling with a few things and struggling with the car as well.
“In the end we managed to maximise it today in Race 2. In Qualifying we could have done much better than this. Pole was an easy target but at the end we messed up a bit. The most important thing is to get a good result in the race and we got P3, so this is definitely good. I’m definitely happy to get a podium in those conditions.”
Looking ahead in the F1 Academy Championship
Pin’s ability to salvage strong results proved crucial in the title fight. Chambers, her closest rival heading into the Dutch GP, failed to start Race 2 due to a mechanical issue, allowing Weug to jump back into second place in the F1 Academy standings thanks to her dominant victory. Even so, Pin leaves the Netherlands with a 20-point advantage—trimmed from the 37 she held before the weekend, but still a healthy margin.
For Pin, the outcome underlines her approach of consistency and resilience, even when outright pace is lacking: “It was a tough one but in the end we got a podium and we can be proud of the mindset that we have, how we always push our limits all the time.
“It’s definitely positive and we have to focus now on the last part of the season.
“We are leading the series and we keep leading it, so it’s a good feeling. We have some work to do but for sure Singapore is a different track to Zandvoort.”
Pin added: “We will need to find performance but I’m confident.
“20 points is still a big gap and we have to focus on ourselves as we have done since the beginning of the season. It’s working so we’ll stay calm as always and bring, I hope, victories.”
While Zandvoort did not deliver the perfect weekend, Pin’s determination ensured that her streak of podiums continued, which is a testament to her consistency and her growing maturity as the championship fight heads into its decisive phase.
