A first for Doriane Pin at the wheel of the 2021 Mercedes F1 car: "I felt comfortable right away."

On the British Silverstone circuit, the dream became a reality for Dorian PinThe reigning F1 Academy champion makes no secret of her dreams of Formula 1The Parisian woman completed more than 200 km on the smallest version of the most mythical circuit in the discipline. "F1 is another world, it's the fastest car in the world," the person in question confided this during a round table discussion to which AUTOhebdo was invited. There's a huge amount of braking efficiency, a huge amount of power, a huge amount of downforce, especially the 2021 which is one of the very best cars of Mercedes Benz and F1 in general. Crazy sensations, really great sensations.

Accompanied by George Russell, among others, and supported by Susie Wolff and a part of his entourage since the beginning of his adventure in carDoriane Pin shared with us the emotion it represented to begin this new concrete chapter in the role of a Mercedes development driver. “I continued to improve throughout the day. We really worked to prepare for this day properly, and I think we prepared it well because I felt comfortable right away.” she explained with a smile. "Thanks to the preliminary work with the engineer on site, and with the whole team behind us, we finished on a high note, I'm very happy."

Doriane Pin dismisses the reservations

The perennial question posed by skeptics since the beginning of her performances in F4 (the F1 Academy does indeed use this type of single-seater), the point of performance was addressed by the French driver. “The times were fast. Everyone is very happy, and I’m happy too, because I’m very grateful for all these opportunities I have, as very few people get to drive a Formula 1 car and have the chance to do their first test with Mercedes in Formula 1… In short, the day went well; it was really important because I wanted to show that I have a chance and I can perform in Formula 1, regardless of gender or career.”

Doriane Pin spoke at length on the subject, reassuring everyone about her condition after the tests, as well as about her future vision regarding the place of women in F1. “I think everyone expects that a woman can’t handle the same G-forces because we’re smaller, we have a different body, but ultimately, with preparation, that’s not true because you prepare for it, you’re a top-level athlete, regardless of whether you’re a woman or a man. They are two different physical preparations, that’s for sure, because the human body works differently. But we can see that physically there’s no problem and that today I did 200 km without any issues, so I’m very happy.”

Indeed well prepared, the Parisian told us last January about the importance of anticipating these kinds of moments in order to perform. “We drive in the best simulators in the world, the sensations are extremely realistic. You really feel the more than 1,000 horsepower under the pedal. But it’s so realistic that you get used to it quite quickly. I adapted well, I worked a lot with the engineers, there were several of them in the room. I also talked with Formula 1 drivers to prepare myself and gather as much information as possible.”

While further tests under the TPC (Testing Previous Cars) program are not currently planned by Mercedes, it seems that this highly anticipated event at Brackley unfolded as expected. Now, Pocket Rocket's adventure continues, between the LMP2 car alongside Duqueine and his role as a Mercedes F1 development driver. Peugeot , in a Hypercar.

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