EXCLUSIVE: F1 ACADEMY champion Doriane Pin on ‘learning a lot’ in new Mercedes role and working towards her F1 goal Reigning F1 ACADEMY champion Doriane Pin tells F1.com about how she is finding her new role as a Mercedes Development Driver and what the year ahead holds as she continues to work towards her dream of reaching Formula 1. A lot has changed in the space of a year for Doriane Pin. At the start of 2025, the French racer was embarking on her second and final campaign in F1 ACADEMY, one that would ultimately see her win the title as well as cementing an impressive record of finishing on the podium at every round she participated in. Now, in 2026, Pin is taking the next steps in her career – with one key milestone being her new position as a Development Driver with the Mercedes F1 team, a role that she will dovetail with a racing programme in the European Le Mans Series. It is clearly going to be a busy year ahead for the 22-year-old, meaning there is plenty to discuss as F1.com sits down with Pin during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend – with topics on the agenda including how she is finding her new role so far, what it has been like to work alongside the team’s drivers and the plans for her to get behind the wheel of an F1 car… ‘Fully taking’ the opportunity of new Mercedes role “I think it’s one of the first times I’ve come to the racetrack and I’m not driving, so it’s a kind of different feeling,” Pin admits as we chat on a sunny day in the Shanghai International Circuit paddock, with the weekend marking the first time that she will be observing an F1 ACADEMY race rather