- Hamilton’s 2014 title battle hooked a young Doriane Pin. She never looked back.
- Pin turned childhood obsession into results, claiming the 2025 F1 Academy crown.
- Mercedes has taken notice, handing Pin a development driver role.
Doriane Pin grew up watching Formula 1 on the sofa with her father. Lewis Hamilton was winning titles at the time. That image stayed with her.
Now 22, the French driver has won the 2025 F1 Academy championship and holds a development driver role at Mercedes. Speaking on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, she told host Tom Clarkson that Hamilton was the reason she wanted to race in the first place.
“The one who inspired me is Lewis Hamilton, mainly,” Pin said.
Hamilton’s titles sparked a childhood dream
Pin’s father was involved in go-karting, and motorsport was part of the household from early on.
She remembers watching Hamilton fight Nico Rosberg through the 2014 season, the year he claimed his second world title and his first with Mercedes.
“When I started watching Formula 1, when I was very little with my dad at home, it was Lewis Hamilton winning titles. My first memories is when he won his first title with Mercedes, second for him in 2014,” she told Clarkson.
“He was fighting with his teammate, Nico Rosberg. So yeah, he inspired me a lot.”
That season was brutal and close. Hamilton only sealed the championship at the final race in Abu Dhabi. For a young girl watching at home, the drama of that title fight lodged itself somewhere deep.
From childhood fan to teammate
What came next was something few fans ever experience. Mercedes brought Pin into their junior programme, and she found herself sharing paddock space with the driver she had watched win titles as a child.
“The first year I joined Mercedes, he was still in Mercedes,” she said on Beyond The Grid. “So, I was able to have some advice and support from him, and it’s still now up to uh to last year.”
That access did not end when Hamilton left for Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season. Pin said the two still talk when they see each other.
“He’s there to help and is very easy to talk with,” she said. “I’m glad we met and had the chance to have some advice from him.”
Hamilton’s influence also shaped how Pin prepares. She keeps a personal journal after every session, logging car balance, setup changes and things she wants to improve.
It is a habit she picked up after learning that Hamilton did the same thing throughout his career. Sebastian Vettel was known for similar practices. Pin drew from both.
A champion in her own right
Pin finished second in the 2024 F1 Academy season. She came back in 2025 with Prema Racing, representing Mercedes, and this time she did not let the title slip away.
Four wins and a championship followed, secured at the season finale in Las Vegas. She became the first French driver to win the series.
The road was not always smooth. “When you’re not winning, it’s challenging because you doubt yourself,” she has said. Her response was to look inward. “You always put yourself first to know what you could do better, what you could improve, what you could do next time.”
That habit of self-examination mirrors something she absorbed from Hamilton without ever being told to. Mercedes has since confirmed her promotion to F1 development driver for 2026.
She will work in the simulator, attend several Grands Prix and mentor the team’s incoming F1 Academy driver. Alongside that, Peugeot has confirmed her as a development driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the same season.
For Pin, the ultimate goal remains to drive in Formula 1 and become one of the top drivers in the world.
The conversation on Beyond The Grid was a reminder that inspiration, when it lands at the right moment, can set an entire career in motion.
