Doriane Pin’s F1 Academy debut, on the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, was a fully dominant efficiency.
Till the second checkered flag.
She secured pole place for each races in qualifying by greater than half a second over Abbi Pulling, notched a lights-to-flag victory within the first race, and took the checkered flag in P1 within the second.
However a miscommunication along with her staff noticed Pin take the checkered flag twice at race velocity. After an investigation — and the rostrum celebration — Pin was assessed a drive-through penalty for the infraction, which was transformed to a 20-second penalty. That dropped her to P9, and promoted Pulling to victory.
Now Pin is headed again to Jeddah for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the second of the 2025 F1 Academy season, and the Mercedes-backed driver has a transparent objective in thoughts: Qualifying up entrance.
“We had a great technique in Shanghai, even when it was a little bit of a compromise on Saturday,” stated Pin to the official F1 Academy web site. “Jeddah can be totally different, there’s a bit much less put on on the tyres because it’s a road observe. We’re going to see in Qualifying, however the intention is to place every thing collectively in Quali and to be on the entrance row.”
Having raced on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Pin has some expertise on the difficult road course. However she is aware of that she is going to have to be up entrance if she needs to financial institution as many factors as doable.
“The important thing level of the weekend is all the time Qualifying, particularly on a road observe in Race 2 the place you rating (essentially the most) factors, you need to begin in entrance. That’s the principle goal, to be aggressive in Quali to be in entrance for Race 2,” said Pin.
“My goal this weekend is to attain as many factors as doable, however clearly doing pole and the win, particularly in Race 2 for the factors. Additionally, to maintain engaged on myself and bettering each time I leap within the automobile. The reverse grid can be a extremely good strategy to work on myself and to enhance in my racecraft and overtakes.”
One thing else that Pin is navigating this season is the reverse grid format, which F1 Academy instituted for the primary race of every weekend, to advertise alternatives for drivers throughout the sector. Drivers that qualify within the high eight have their positions reversed for the primary race, such that the driving force that qualifies eighth will begin up entrance, whereas the driving force that takes pole place begins in P8.
That’s particularly difficult in Jeddah, the place overtaking comes at a premium.
“The most important problem we’re going to face is the reverse grid,” Pin outlined. “It’s one thing new this yr, so it’s a brand new problem for everybody, however particularly for the top-eight the place it’s reversed. Jeddah will not be as straightforward as Shanghai for overtakes so we’ve got to be sensible and to discover a strategy to climb up and discover good locations to overhaul.”
Nonetheless, because of outcomes on the Chinese language Grand Prix Pin enters this weekend atop the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship standings, with a five-point lead over Maya Weug because of her win within the second race in Shanghai, the place the large factors are handed out.
Pin needs to maintain the momentum going, with “good outcomes” in Saudi Arabia.
“Being on high of the Drivers’ Standings is nice,” added the Mercedes driver. “We did a extremely good begin to the season in Shanghai and I need to proceed in that course. Jeddah was very robust final yr and I believe we’re capable of do it once more.
“We have been working laborious in the course of the three days of testing and I’m positive we’re prepared for the race weekend. I’m wanting ahead to it and I hope we’re going to carry good outcomes to the staff.”
