‘The Best Day of My Life’ – Doriane Reflects on Maiden F1 Test
“I am proud to show that no matter the gender and no matter where you come from, you can drive a Formula One car.”
It is not every day you get to make history, but that’s exactly what Doriane Pin did last week.
The first woman to drive a Mercedes F1 car. There may be many more who get behind the wheel in the future, but the French star will always be the first.
A few days on from her 200kms in W12 at Silverstone – with her parents watching on for every lap – Dori is still smiling.
“It was the best day of my life,” she says.
“I didn’t want to get out at the end; I was really sad when it was all over. The next day I texted my engineer and said: ‘when can we go out again?!’
“From the moment I jumped into the cockpit, there was just a silence in my mind, I was just focused on the moment.
“Then the tyres blankets came off, and it all became so real. As soon as I got out on track, I was just like, ‘wow!.’
“I just wanted to fully enjoy the moment, stay in the zone and stay present.”
After 76 laps, it was time to bask in the glory of a childhood dream achieved, but not before one final demonstration of what an F1 car in the hands of Doriane Pin was capable of.
“It was the final run on the Softs, when we really pushed, and I could start to feel that F1 was so alive for me in that moment,” said Doriane.
So alive in fact, that the echoes of the Mercedes Power Unit were still ringing in her ears later that night.
“The night before I slept absolutely fine, like a baby. The night after was a nightmare! I could still hear the engine and couldn’t stop thinking about being behind the wheel.
“I didn’t sleep at all.”
Perhaps that lack of sleep came could also be attributed to the high levels of adrenaline still coursing through the 22-year-old’s veins.
Physically at least, there were no aftereffects, the importance of which – for all the young girls hoping to follow in the reigning F1 ACADEMY champion’s footsteps – was not lost on Doriane.
“Everyone knows a woman in an F1 car is not common, but people also don’t know if a woman can drive an F1 car,” she says.
“But we can now conclude that no matter where you come from, no matter how you look, or who you are, you can drive an F1 car is you fully get ready for it.
“If you put 100% into motorsports you can achieve anything.
“I am proud to show that no matter the gender and no matter where you come from – even if you look very tiny – you can drive a Formula One car.”
This was not the work of just one day, though, and Doriane was determined to make the most of her opportunity from the outset.
A childhood dream does not become a reality through imagination alone.
“I worked so hard at home with videos to make sure I was ready for the day, and I had a full day with my engineer to do the seat fit and talk through all the systems and the different procedures,” she adds.
“On the day when I got to the track I continued to take on board everything everyone was telling me as soon as I got to the track.
“Every time I got in the car, I was naturally improving, because I was understanding what my engineer was telling me.
“The G-Forces are a big shock to your neck, because that is the most demanding part, but your body must adapt. Physically I was fine.”
Dori may never lose the smile that has adorned her face since her momentous day at Silverstone, but the external happiness and pleasantry will do nothing to detract from the fiery, competitive, racing spirit that continues to burn bright within.
“My goal is obviously still to be racing in Formula 1, and be able to do more than TPC testing,” she says.
“Having this opportunity would not have been possible without the help and support of Mercedes, it was just so amazing, so I will be forever thankful to everyone at the team for that.”
