Mercedes F1: Female driver who 'impressed' Lewis Hamilton gives update on test

Formula 4 driver Doriane Pin and Lewis Hamilton — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Female driver who 'impressed' Lewis Hamilton gives update on Mercedes F1 test

Doriane Pin won the F1 Academy championship in 2025

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 13 April 2026 16:55

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F1 hopeful and Mercedes development driver Doriane Pin has issued an update on whether she will test Formula 1 machinery with the team.

Pin won the F1 Academy title in 2025 as a Mercedes backed driver, continuing her relationship with the team into 2026 where she now utilises her skills back at Brackley, undertaking development work in the simulator.

The French driver was praised by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton back in 2024, his final season with Mercedes, in a message sent to the then F1 Academy star.

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He said: "I'm so impressed with what you did last year and really excited to see the changes that you made coming into this season."

During an appearance on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Pin also revealed the advice and support Hamilton has given her during her time at Mercedes.

She said: "It was [surreal]. Because I was watching him since a very long time. And the first year I joined Mercedes, he was still in Mercedes, so I was able to have some advice and support from him and still now, up to last year, we discussed a bit sometimes when we see each other.

"He’s very there, you know, he’s there to help and very easy to talk with. So I’m glad we met and I’m glad I had the chance to have some advice from him."

What's next for Doriane Pin?

Alongside her role as a Mercedes development driver, Pin is also in the same role for Peugeot's World Endurance Championship team and will set her sights on endurance racing in 2026.

The 22-year-old signed up with the Duqueine Team for the 2026 European Le Mans Series campaign in the LMP2 Pro/AM Class, and the first event on the ELMS schedule was at Barcelona on Sunday, April 12.

Alongside Giorgio Roda and Richard Verschoor, Pin's Duqueine team finished third on the road in Barcelona and occupy the same spot in the LMP2 Pro-Am drivers' standings.

As for testing Mercedes F1 machinery? On the same episode of Beyond the Gird, Pin was asked whether team principal Toto Wolff had said anything about testing a Formula 1 car.

Pin replied: "Yes! He said it. Obviously we still have to see how it goes in the sim, and then that's a potential next step.

"But it's going well in the sim, so that's also where the idea of letting me do a private test comes from, to give me the chance to drive in the real car.

"I'm pushing for it as well, because I really want to get that chance to show my potential, because my target is to get into Formula 1, so I’ll make sure I’m fully ready to get in the car in real life."

F1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Toto Wolff Doriane Pin