"There were very good references the whole weekend and I’ve been learning so much from that." - Doriane Pin gained eight places in Race 1 to finish P16 on her first Formula Regional Middle East weekend in Dubai, as she continues her preparation for her 2025 campaigns.
Doriane Pin kicked off her 2025 racing season by joining the Formula Regional Middle East Championship for its third round in Dubai, as part of her part-time campaign in preparation for her dual racing program this year.
Despite a challenging qualifying, Pin delivered an impressive recovery drive in the opening race of the weekend, climbing from 24th to 16th. The Iron Dame and Mercedes junior driver was on course for her first top-15 finish in Race 2 but fell behind a group of cars while battling in the midfield, ultimately finishing a respectable 18th.
Hoping for another charge through the field in Race 3, the Prema Racing driver—racing this weekend with Mumbai Falcons colors—gained three places on the first lap. However, she was unlucky to get caught in an unavoidable accident just ahead of her, which took her out of contention.
Pin is set to return to F1 Academy in 2025, representing Mercedes-AMG in a Prema entry, while also competing in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine following her 2024 debut. As part of her preparation, she joined the highly competitive Formula Regional Middle East Championship, which features some of the world’s top young drivers at the Formula Regional level.
With four triple-header rounds scheduled in the UAE across January and February—plus the season finale in Qatar—the 2025 FRMEC field had already contested the first two rounds at the Yas Marina GP and Corkscrew layouts before heading to Dubai Autodrome, where they supported the Asian Le Mans Series 4H of Dubai.
While many of her competitors already had significant track time, including pre-season testing, Pin joined the field midway through the season, aiming to quickly regain race rhythm.
She utilized the pre-event test to get back up to speed, returning to Dubai after competing in last year's F4 UAE Championship. In official practice, Pin made steady progress, setting a 1:57.302 lap time to finish Friday in 22nd position.
On Saturday morning, Pin took part in her first qualifying session of the season. She improved to a 1:57.044 in Q1, placing her 24th, before further gains in Q2 saw her dip under the two-second margin to the top, with a 1:55.855 securing P23 on the grid.
In Saturday afternoon’s Race 1, Pin aimed to recover from her challenging qualifying.
At lights out, she gained two positions, passing Yuanpu Cui and immediately pressuring Finley Green. However, a difficult second lap saw her drop to the back, falling behind Cui, Bergmeister, Beeton, and Sawer in 26th.
Determined to fight back, Pin overtook Sawer on lap 3 before passing Jakob Bergmeister a lap later. Continuing her charge, she moved ahead of Wang Zhongwei, then capitalized on misfortune for James Hedley and Kai Daryanani to climb to P22 by lap 4.
Another position was gained on Aditya Kulkarni, bringing her up to 19th before a safety car was deployed due to a crash involving Everett Stack.
At the restart on lap 9, Pin immediately went on the attack, passing Green to move into P16. However, another incident—this time between Ernesto Rivera and Hiyu Yamakoshi, who crashed into the barriers—brought out another safety car, ending the race under caution.
Despite early setbacks, Pin gained eight positions from the start, finishing P16 in an excellent recovery drive.
After a strong opening race, the Iron Dame had another opportunity to climb the order in Race 2 on Sunday morning, starting from P16 in the reverse-grid format.
At the start, she initially got away well before settling into 16th after the first lap, as the front of the field saw Jin Nakamura retain the lead ahead of Freddie Slater and Enzo Deligny.
Pin made early progress, passing Veselaho to break into the top 15 by lap 2. Showing strong pace in the 1:58s, she began pressuring Liu Ruiqi and Aditya Kulkarni just ahead.
Unfortunately, an issue on lap 4 saw her drop four places to 18th in the tightly packed field.
Despite this setback, she regained her pace and looked to fight back, targeting Veselaho once again. However, the Saintéloc driver defended well while improving his own lap times, making overtaking difficult. Pin found herself in an eight-car battle where every small mistake proved costly, eventually settling in 18th, aiming to save tyres for a final push.
Up front, Slater launched a late bid for the race lead, but Nakamura held firm in a thrilling four-car battle involving Rashid Al Dhaheri and Theophile Naël.
In the closing minutes, Pin came under pressure from Yamakoshi and Hedley, with the latter passing her on the penultimate lap. She crossed the line in 19th but was later promoted to 18th after post-race penalties. Despite a strong start, she was unlucky not to finish in the top 15 again.
Starting 23rd for the final race of the weekend, Pin aimed to move forward once again.
A chaotic first lap saw a four-car incident eliminate Kanato Le from the race and bring out the safety car. Akshay Bohra, Jack Cameron, and Jack Beeton were also involved.
Pin had to take evasive action, losing some time but emerging in P20 before the neutralization. At the front, Evan Giltaire led Ugo Ugochukwu and Theophile Naël.
Following the restart with 20 minutes to go, Pin pressured Finley Green in a tightly packed group of cars. Moments later, Green went deep and spun at Turn 6, triggering a multi-car pileup. Pin, caught in the melee, was unable to avoid the collision and was collected by Jakob Bergmeister, forcing her to retire from the race as the safety car was deployed.
While it was a mixed weekend for the F1 Academy 2024 vice-champion, Pin impressed with a strong recovery drive in Race 1, showcasing excellent racecraft in an ultra-competitive field while making up for lost track time from the opening two rounds.
“The first race weekend of 2025 was challenging in this top-level championship", Pin commented. "There were very good references the whole weekend and I’ve been learning so much from that."
"Qualifying has been difficult, but during the races we made some positive steps forward and some good overtakes", she continued. "We finished 16th and made up eight positions in Race 1, had a decent Race 2, and Race 3 was just unfortunate contact that I couldn’t avoid."
"That’s racing and we have to focus on the positives from the weekend. I’m looking forward to the next event at Abu Dhabi, I’m sure we’ll make some progress again. I like the track and I’ll be giving it my best.”
She now looks to build on this momentum as the championship resumes in just a few days at Yas Marina Circuit on February 15-16—the same venue where she claimed a victory in F4 UAE last year.
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