Doriane Pin Becomes First Woman to Drive a Mercedes F1 Car in Silverstone Milestone

Doriane Pin has written herself into Formula 1 history, becoming the first woman to drive a Mercedes F1 car after completing a private test at Silverstone on 17 April. The 22-year-old Frenchwoman, who clinched the 2025 F1 Academy title in Las Vegas with four wins and eight podiums, got behind the wheel of the Mercedes W12 – the 2021 Constructors' Championship-winning car that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas drove to glory – on the Silverstone National Circuit. She completed 76 laps, covering 200km in a day Mercedes had been quietly building towards since naming her Development Driver for 2026. In doing so, Pin also became the first Frenchwoman to drive modern Formula 1 machinery, adding her name to a very short list of women who have sat in contemporary grand prix cars this decade. The most recent was Jessica Hawkins, who drove Aston Martin's AMR21 at the Hungaroring in 2023. Pin struggled to find the words for what the day meant to her. "Driving an F1 car for the first time today was unreal," she said. "I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity and to be surrounded by this incredible team. It was a unique opportunity and I made sure to enjoy my day to the fullest, along with doing the best job I could." "Whilst being a female driver doesn't define me, it was great to show what we can do. It was an extremely emotional day and I'm also thankful I was able to share this experience with my family." The W12 is a notoriously physical car – the last of the wide 2017-2021 regulation era – and Pin admitted the step up from F1 Academy machinery was huge. "The W12 is obviously really different from the other cars I've been able to drive," she explained. "Everything is different, bigger and more powerful. I am glad I was able to build confidence lap after lap and show what I was capable of." Mercedes had tempered expectations before the run, but the feedback from the pit wall suggests Pin exceeded them. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin confirmed her performance had impressed the entire team. "It's been great to have Doriane complete a day of testing with the W12 today. It marks another major step on what is proving to be a very exciting and promising career and also makes her the first ever female driver of a Mercedes F1 car," Shovlin said. "Her preparation and professionalism has impressed the whole team and she should be really proud of what she has achieved. Whatever series you come from, it is always a massive step when getting into an F1 car but she looked at home from the very first laps and was able to enjoy driving the car on the limit." Driver Development Advisor Gwen Lagrue framed the day as a statement about the team's intent. "It is always really special for a young driver to drive an F1 car for the very first time," Lagrue said. "Today, it is even more unique as Doriane is the first ever woman to drive a Mercedes F1 car. We are very proud to show to the next generation of female drivers that driving an F1 car is achievable. I am sure we will see a woman driving in F1 in the coming years and as a team, we would be incredibly proud if we were to achieve that goal with someone in our team." The last woman to take part in an official F1 session was Susie Wolff, who drove for Williams across four grand prix weekends in 2014 and 2015. The last female race start in Formula 1 was Lella Lombardi at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. Pin's Silverstone laps do not close that gap on their own, but in a paddock that has slowed its rhetoric on gender progress in recent years, they are a concrete step rather than a symbolic one – and Mercedes, through Susie Wolff's F1 Academy role and now this test, is the team most publicly staking its credibility on delivering the next female grand prix driver. --- *Originally published on [Formula 1 News](https://newsformula.one/article/doriane-pin-becomes-first-woman-to-drive-a-mercedes-f1-car-in-silverstone-milestone). Visit for full coverage.*