Ex-driver questions F1 Academy as they strip Mercedes development driver’s win in Saudi Arabia for a last-lap mistake

Doraine Pin was dropped down to ninth in the overall Saudi Arabian GP standings.

Ex-driver questions F1 Academy as they strip Mercedes development driver’s win in Saudi Arabia for a last-lap mistake

Doraine Pin (Via: Motor Magazine)

The 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend came to a close with Max Verstappen securing his second win of the 2024 F1 season. While the whole weekend is going to be remembered for several reasons, an unusual F1 Academy incident has come to light.

This year, the Academy races are going to take place on the same weekend as F1. While the Academy event was a success, it amassed negative publicity when Mercedes development driver, Doriane Pin, was stripped of her Grand Prix win.

YouTube video

As the chequered flag fell at F1 Academy’s Saudi Arabian GP, Pin was the first to cross it, but surprisingly, she failed to notice the waving checkered flag. She continued at full pace for another round of the circuit and crossed the finishing line again on the cool-down lap.

FS Video

For this reason, her first-place finish was given to Alpine’s Abbi Pulling. This whole incident has caused immense noise on the web and while a lot has been said, F1 pundit, Karun Chandhok has taken the time to weigh in on the baffling situation. Via his X handle, he wrote, 

Err....what?! Surely it should have been a warning.

Doriane Pin was handed a 20-second time penalty after the Saudi Arabian GP

While Dorraine Pin’s much-deserved first-place finish in Saudi Arabia was stripped, a 20-second time penalty was also imposed on her. It ultimately dropped her to ninth place in the final standings of the F1 Academy race.

Doraine Pin
Doraine Pin (Via: AutoRacing1.com)

One more interesting fact about the whole saga is that Pin told her fellow drivers that she faced radio issues during the race. This was evident when she crossed the flag and started going all out for another lap. Her race engineer on the team radio said, as reported by Autosport: 

Doriane, what are you doing? It’s the chequered flag.

The 20-year-old did not get the message because of the radio issue and after her lap after the chequered flag, she said, 

You didn’t tell me!

This is probably the first-of-its-kind incident that has taken place during a race weekend. Doraine Pin will never forget this incident and it will act as a reminder for all the drivers going forward. It was an unfortunate incident for the young driver.

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