With only one round remaining of the 2025 F1 Academy Season, the season finale in Las Vegas, many of the drivers on the grid are having to work out where they’ll go to pursue the next step of their motorsport careers. Mercedes protégé Doriane Pin is one of them and two mouth watering prospects lie before her for the future – the road to Formula 1 and a return to endurance racing. Which world will she end up in? A roll of the dice in Las Vegas may just be the determining factor.

Doriane Pin was initially known for her endurance racing credentials. Since 2021, she’s been competing with both the Iron Lynx and Iron Dames teams. In that time, she raced in Ferrari Challenge Europe, the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the European Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championship, amongst others. She gained the moniker of “Pocket Rocket” and looked to be well on her way for an impressive career in endurance racing.

It was a little surprising then when Doriane made the switch to F1 Academy and began her career in single seater racing in 2024. Backed by Mercedes and racing for PREMA, expectations were high for the young French woman. Switching between disciplines is never straightforward and such a move can often make or break a career.

Rookie Season

Doriane Pin proceeded to hit the ground running though when she first entered F1 Academy in 2024, winning her very first race in Jeddah. It was the first of three wins that year with the other two coming in Zandvoort and Qatar. Five more podiums followed and Pin only finished outside of the top five twice – but on both occasions, she still finished comfortably inside the top ten.

Her only really memorable mistake, which ultimately resulted in her worst finish of the year, P9, came in Saudi Arabia. Running comfortably at the head of the field, Pin somehow didn’t see the chequered flag being waved and continued to race on what would have been her cool down lap. The stewards subsequently penalised her for this bizarre rookie error.

Pin finished her rookie season in second place overall – with only the dominant force of Abbi Pulling able to beat her to the title. It was sink or swim for Doriane in her debut season in single seater racing. It’s safe to say she swam.

F1A 2025 – Pin Vs Weug

This year, for her second and final season of F1 Academy, Pin has once again been incredibly consistent. With one round left, her worst result has been P6. In the rest of the season so far, she’s achieved three wins and a further four podiums. When that’s combined with the fact that this year, she’s only qualified outside of the top three once, you begin to get a firm idea of just how good she is.

At the penultimate round of the 2025 F1 Academy Season in Singapore, Pin qualified in P2 . She went on to finish in P5 in Race I. The second race of the weekend was a more dramatic affair for her. All season long, Ferrari backed driver Maya Weug has been keeping Pin honest out on track. Also with three wins to her name but with an additional four podiums on top of that, Pin hasn’t been able to take any respite.

“But I haven’t been driving in the rain on the street track I think for most of the drivers. It’s quite different but obviously as a driver you always have to adapt to the conditions because rain is always different. But I like the rain, I had obviously very good memories in endurance racing.” – Doriane Pin

In Singapore, Pin managed to steal the lead away from Weug at the start of the second race and from there out, looked in complete control. But with the rain coming down and a safety car restart looming, Pin ultimately lost out to her nemesis with Weug snatching the lead back from her on the final lap and winning the race.

Nine points now separate Doriane Pin and Maya Weug in the Championship with the former leading the way heading into Las Vegas.

What Next for Doriane Pin?

The driver that wins the F1 Academy Championship receives support from the series as they continue their motorsport career on the next rung of the ladder. Last year’s Champion, Abbi Pulling received, amongst other things, a fully funded seat in the GB3 Championship. With motorsport being an expensive sport and with opportunities and sponsors still sparse for female drivers, this kind of support is critical. For Doriane Pin then, losing the F1 Academy title to Maya Weug could be the end of the road for her single seater career.

Pin was direct and honest about this when speaking recently with The Paddock Chronicle, prior to the Singapore race weekend.

“It depends on where we’re going to finish this year, to be honest. If we win the championship, good opportunities will come up. If we don’t, we don’t really know. So I don’t really have answers, to be honest, at the moment because there is a lot of discussion going on. But as I said, it depends on the final result. So we will see at the end of the year after Las Vegas.” – Doriane Pin

While it’s hard to imagine Doriane Pin not racing in single seaters, it also wouldn’t be surprising. F1 Academy alumni such as the Al Qubaisi sisters and Nerea Marti have this year transitioned into endurance racing for example . It’s an option that Pin is also heavily weighing up and her career there before single seaters obviously counts in her favour.

“I mean, obviously, my ultimate goal is to reach Formula One one day. But I know there is also quite a big opportunity in endurance racing and going to a manufacturer. And also, you know, maybe reach hypercar one day. So it’s also the top level of endurance…” – Doriane Pin

But it’s not all simply down to Doriane.

Enter Mercedes

Since the start of the 2024 F1 Academy Season, Formula 1 Teams have taken on and supported a driver in the series. For both seasons, Mercedes have backed Doriane Pin. With developing promising talent, such as Luna Fluxa and Kimi Antonelli, a hallmark of their endeavours, keeping Pin in their roster seems like something that Mercedes would do. But Mercedes are also a performance driven outfit that continuously seeks out perfection on all fronts.

“As I said, Mercedes, they have plenty of experience, but they also have their own names. So the decision has to be taken all together, but we’ll see how it goes.” – Doriane Pin

Would Mercedes continue to back Pin moving forwards as she navigates the possible worlds of FRECA, GB3 or even Formula 3? Or would they pivot to the next up and coming female talent on their docket in the aforementioned Fluxa? Naturally, there’s no reason why they can’t do both but this is the type of question being pondered on by fans everywhere.

“So obviously, the thing that I want the most is to go to Formula 3 and then Formula 2 and Formula 1. But it’s not only me that decides and I have good people around me that support me.” – Doriane Pin

Formula 1 Vs Endurance Racing

Doriane Pin has also had single seater experience in Formula 4 UAE where she won a race in Abu Dhabi. She also competed in Formula 4 South East Asia, winning the final race of that season in Malaysia. Her focus is clearly on rising as high as she can on the single seater ladder and attempting to get into Formula 1.

But the lure of endurance racing must always be in the back of her mind too. The World Endurance Championship is an incredibly competitive series and appears to be going from strength to strength at present. It currently has eight different manufactures racing in the series and sees drivers such as Robert Kubica, Matt Campbell and Kamui Kobayashi competing. The title fights are all very close, the circuits the series travels to are large and part iconic and succeeding there sets you apart from other drivers. Winning there wouldn’t be easy either – but might provide Doriane with a more straightforward path. Moreover, success there would open doors elsewhere not just in the endurance world like IMSA, but in single seater Championships too – for example, Mick Schumacher recently tested for RHLL in IndyCar, after competing in the WEC for the past two seasons.

So, will Doriane Pin be the next female driver in Formula 3? Will Mercedes continue to back her moving forwards? Or will she switch back to endurance racing and make history there instead? The pressure is on for the title decider in Las Vegas. Don’t miss it.

Feature Image: Mercedes Media Centre