Coming into the 2024 F1 Academy season, Doriane Pin was one of the favorites to potentially win the Drivers’ Championship. Now, six races later and with the last two rounds ahead of us, the Mercedes driver sits second in the overall standings. Though the chance to catch the leading Abbi Pulling is slim, Pin has proved over and over again her natural talent and skills — something we saw from her last weekend in Singapore as well. On the street circuit of Marina Bay, the Frenchwoman managed to score double podium, taking P3 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Even though she was hoping for a bit more in Race 2, for which she qualified second and lost a place in the very start to Ferrari-supported Maya Weug, she can be pleased with how her weekend turned out.
“Yeah, the race start was not too bad, but I think Maya [Weug] took a better start than me. We took a better start than Abbi [Pulling], but yeah…” Pin admitted in reflection of the poor Lap 1 of Sunday’s race.
“Turn 1 was quite tight. I was trying to overtake again in the first lap because I know the opportunity could come at this point, but when you’re [fully close], it’s not easy to follow first and to overtake,” she shared her strategy that unfortunately didn’t work out how she wanted it to.
“The last lap I backed off to try to have the fastest lap, which we have missed for less than one tenth,” Pin also explained the sudden extension of her gap to Weug towards the end of the race. “So [that’s] a shame, but yeah. I think it’s double podium this weekend — we can be overall happy, even if I wanted more.”
This year, during its second year existing, F1 Academy visited Singapore for the first time ever, as this track was not on the calendar of the all-female series in 2023. For many other drivers, driving and racing there was a dream come true — so what about Pin?
“Yeah, it’s a challenging circuit,” she commented.
“I think Singapore is a challenging track. And especially with the heat today, with the overheating of the tyres and the management. It was hard work, and especially following [other cars], so yeah. It’s challenging but it’s good for our career, for our debut in single-seaters.”
Pin also expressed her opinions on the structure of the race weekend and the importance of Qualifying — especially on such a tight circuit like in Singapore, where the track position is crucial when starting the race.
“Obviously, we only did one [free practice] of thirty minutes, so it’s not a lot and we have to maximize everything for Qualifying. Because Qualifying is the most important part of the weekend. First, if you start on pole, it’s obviously much better. But we were starting at the front row and we are on the front still,” she concluded.
And with her still on the front in the championship, Pin will be sure to get ready for Round 6 that will take place in Qatar, while also racing in other series during this almost two months long pause.
