Mercedes tease landmark Doriane Pin F1 test

Mercedes has teased on social media that reigning F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin is set to be handed her first Formula 1 test by the Silver Arrows.

On Friday evening, the Brackley-based outfit posted an image of Pin in a Mercedes race suit while holding her helmet in front of the W12.

It was the car Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas drove during the unforgettable 2021 F1 season, when the title was decided in a late, controversial incident in the Abu Dhabi finale.

Pin joined Mercedes in 2024 and represented the outfit in her two F1 Academy campaigns, before becoming one of its official development drivers earlier this year.

The role has seen the Frenchwoman spend significant time in an F1 simulator supporting the team, something she had previously never done.

Alongside her Mercedes role, the 22-year-old is competing alongside Julien Andlauer and Richard Verschoor in the European Le Mans Series and will also enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In an appearance on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Pin revealed that the plan was eventually to be handed a real-life test in F1 machinery by Mercedes, which, based on the team's recent social post, may have already happened or is about to happen.

Addressing her eagerness for an F1 test, Pin explained: "Yes! Of course we still have to see how it goes in the sim, and then that's a possible next step.

"But it's going well in the sim, so that's also where the idea of letting me do a private test comes from, to give me the chance to drive in the real car.

"I'm pushing for that, too, you know, because I really want to get that chance to show my potential. My goal is to get into Formula 1, so I really need to make sure I'm 100% ready to get in the car in real life."

Check out Mercedes' social post below!