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Doriane Pin has become F1 Academy champion after the Mercedes driver secured the result she needed in the final race of the season in Las Vegas to beat Maya Weug to the title.
The 21-year-old Frenchwoman only needed to finish in the top six of Race Two to secure the crown after she won Saturday’s reverse-grid race while Ferrari rival Weug crashed out in a collision on the formation lap.
Weug had to win the final race to have any chance of denying Pin and, while she passed her rival with two laps to go for third place, the Ferrari-backed driver finished behind second-placed Alisha Palmowski and winner Chloe Chambers, who led every lap from pole to win on home soil.
Pin dropped to fifth in the end after also being passed by Alba Larsen but it made no difference to the final championship outcome, the French driver finishing up 15 points clear of Weug in the standings.
Pin becomes the all-female series’ third champion after Marta Garcia in 2023 and Abbi Pulling in 2024. Pin finished second to Pulling last year in her first season of single-seater racing.
Pin was congratulated in parc ferme by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff along with drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli as she celebrated her title..
“It’s incredible, I can’t believe it!” said a delighted Pin, who also received post-race congratulations from F1 president Stefano Domenicali.
“I worked so hard for this with the team. They have been part of my success since day one when we joined Mercedes and joined single-seater racing in 2024.
“We worked only to be champion, so really happy to work with them to achieve amazing things together.
“Not only them here today but also all the people who helped me behind the scenes at the beginning of my career. My family, my dad and Iron Dames that have been part of this success. We are here today because we are strong together, and we are champions!”
Prema, the outfit that Pin drives for, already clinched the teams’ title for the third consecutive year in Race One.
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