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Clinical consistency and daring overtakes: The moments that made Pin’s title-winning season
Doriane Pin's talent was clear to see from the moment she burst on to the F1 ACADEMY scene in Jeddah last year, and she shone even brighter on her way to being crowned the 2025 Champion.
From commanding drives to battles through the pack, the Mercedes driver has stamped her mark on the series throughout. As we reminisce on the 2025 campaign, let's take a look back at the key moments that made Pin's charge to the title this season.
1. A start to remember in Shanghai
Fans wouldn’t have to wait long for Pin to produce one of the defining moments on her path to glory. Entering the season with a burning ambition to win the title after losing out to Champion Abbi Pulling the previous year, Qualifying in Shanghai proved to be a frustrating note to begin on — missing out on pole by almost five tenths to rival Maya Weug.
However metres into Race 2, she’d set the tone for what the rest of the grid should expect from her. Capitalising on a rolling start, the Iron Dame executed an audacious move around the outside of Weug at Turn 1 and drove off into the distance. Untroubled in the lead, Pin took the chequered flag two seconds clear, giving her a five-point advantage in the Drivers’ Standings.
2. A reverse grid breakthrough in Miami
Following the first two rounds, it looked as though the momentum was with Weug rather than Pin, after the Ferrari driver recorded four podiums in four races. Qualifying third in a manic session in Miami, the Mercedes driver knew the reverse grid races were going to be make or break for her title hopes.
Since their reintroduction at the start of the 2025 campaign, they hadn’t been Pin’s strong suit with two P4 finishes so far. With a maximum of 77 points available in the reverse grid races out of the 273 total points being played for and a seven point deficit to Weug, the Iron Dame had much needed ground to make up from P6.
Acing her start and steering clear of trouble, Pin was already up to second by Turn 2. Eventually getting through on Emma Felbermayr after a fierce duel with the Kick Sauber driver for the lead, she pulled a comfortable gap to take the win and move herself only one point off the Standings lead.
3. Making the most out of Montreal
A debut on Canadian soil would mark the moment where Pin truly began to turn the tide in her hunt for the title. As Weug was plagued with a technical issue, her misfortune would be Pin’s lucky chance to capitalise on the three-race weekend format.
Race 1 gave her have a front-row seat to the contact between polesitter Chloe Chambers and her teammate Alisha Palmowski. This left the door wide open for the 21-year-old to seize the victory and the all-important Standings lead — a position she would maintain all the way to the final chequered flag in Las Vegas.
P4 in the reverse grid Race 2 was followed up with her fifth podium of the year in Race 3, although she was lucky to escape damage after narrowly avoiding the contact between Palmowski and Ella Lloyd. Outscoring Weug by 38 points, Pin left Montreal with a healthy 20-point advantage in the Standings.
4. Hitting a stumbling block in Zandvoort
As with all the greatest drivers, Pin wasn’t always unassailable. While she entered Round 4 buoyed by her success last time out, her visit to the Circuit Zandvoort would mark her weakest weekend of the year. Forced to settle for fifth in Qualifying, the French racer failed to stake a claim on either race lead and a P6 finish in Race 1 proved to be the low point of her season.
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Promoted to the podium in Race 2 courtesy of a penalty for Lloyd, Pin’s nearest rival remained 20-points behind as Weug regained the P2 spot from Chambers. Yet Pin’s calm and inwardly focused approach remained as unshakeable as ever.
5. Edging closer to the title in Las Vegas
Nowhere else was Pin’s relentless pursuit of the title showcased more than in Las Vegas. Her quest that had been going on for the past seven months all came down to one final weekend and the last two races in a showdown between herself and Weug.
Recent form favoured Weug, who bested Pin in the previous two rounds, outscoring her by 28 points to slice her deficit to the Mercedes driver down to nine points. As the pressure rose, Pin could have easily cracked, particularly after a less than perfect Qualifying. Four tenths off pole in P4, crucially she did enough to outqualify Weug in fifth.
Despite the slippery conditions for Race 1, Pin exhibited all the characteristics of a Champion as she fought her way through for the win, putting one hand on the title heading into the final race…