A special milestone for Mercedes: Doriane Pin, the 2025 F1 Academy champion, will drive her very first test in a Formula 1 car on Saturday. The French driver joined the Silver Arrows in 2024, before becoming a development driver for the team earlier this year. Pin will drive the W12 at Silverstone; the Formula 1 car with which Lewis Hamilton battled Max Verstappen for the title in 2021. Pin also immediately makes history: she is the first woman to take a seat in a Mercedes F1 car.
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Since winning the F1 Academy racing class title in 2025, Doriane Pin has started as a development driver for the Mercedes Formula 1 team. In addition to these commitments, which mainly involve a lot of simulator work for the Frenchwoman, she will also return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this year, as a teammate of Dutchman Richard Verschoor.
However, the real milestone in Pin’s motorsport career takes place this weekend. On Saturday, she was allowed to complete her first test laps in a Formula 1 car at the Silverstone circuit in the Mercedes W12, as the very first female driver for Mercedes ever. The test is part of Mercedes’ Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program. Lewis Hamilton previously fought a title battle with Max Verstappen in the W12 back in 2021, although he ultimately came up short.
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The moment @DorianePin has always dreamed of ❤️
As she becomes the first female to ever drive a Mercedes F1 car.
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— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 18, 2026
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An unforgettable day! 🙌
Reigning @F1Academy Champion and @MercedesAMGF1 Development Driver Doriane Pin drives an F1 car for the first time 👊#F1
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 18, 2026
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‘Goal is to reach Formula 1’
Pin had previously hinted at the private test in the Beyond the Grid podcast. The French driver explained that Toto Wolff was impressed with her work in the simulator. “Of course, I’m giving it my all, because I want to get that chance to drive the car and show what I can do,” Pin said. “My goal is to ultimately reach Formula 1. So I have to make sure I’m completely ready when that opportunity arises.”
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