RacingDoriane Pin says Mercedes has already promised her a private Formula 1 test, with Toto Wolff making the call after the French driver’s simulator work at Brackley convinced the team she was ready for the next step.
Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, gave the clearest confirmation yet that the plan is in place. “Yes, Toto said I’m going to have an F1 test,” Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, said on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
That matters because this had been talked about as a future possibility. Pin said Mercedes first wanted to see how she performed in the simulator before taking it any further, and she made clear that the feedback from those sessions changed the conversation.
“Of course, first we needed to see how it was going in the simulator, and then that was the potential next step. But the simulator went very well, really very well, and that’s why they had the idea of having me take part in a private test and giving me the chance to drive the real car,” Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, said on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
According to the report, Pin’s performances in Mercedes’ Brackley simulator were rated extremely highly within the team. That was enough for Mercedes to move from theory to planning a real outing.
Pin also said the test is tied directly to her long-term target, not a one-off appearance. “Yes, I’m really pushing for that, because I want my chance to drive the car and show that there is potential, because my goal is to get to Formula 1,” Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, said on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
She added that she still has work to do before the run happens. “I’m going to make sure I’m totally ready before getting in the car in real conditions,” Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, said on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
Some of the practical preparation is still not complete. “I haven’t yet been able to do the seat fitting,” Pin, Mercedes development driver and 2025 F1 Academy champion, said on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
Pin is 22 and joined Mercedes’ junior programme in 2024 before winning the F1 Academy title in her second season in 2025. After that title, she became a Mercedes development driver.
If the test goes ahead as planned, it would place her on a very short list of women to drive modern F1 machinery. According to the report summaries, Susie Wolff was the last woman to take part in a grand prix weekend in 2014, and Jessica Hawkins completed an Aston Martin test in 2023.
That does not make Pin’s own framing any less direct. She says she wants the chance to prove herself in the car, and Mercedes now appears ready to give her that chance after what she has shown in the simulator.