Pin hungry to convert Practice pace into battle for pole

After topping the opening session in Jeddah, Doriane Pin’s goal for Qualifying is simple – to turn her rapid speed in Practice into securing the first pole position of the season.

The Mercedes driver was almost unshakable at the head of the timing sheets for PREMA Racing. Vying with Alpine’s Abbi Pulling for the fastest lap, Pin consistently bettered her previous best efforts. Ultimately, one final flying lap at the conclusion of running kept her fastest of all on a 2:04.889 - 0.212s ahead of the Rodin Motorsport car.

Understandably full of smiles after the session, Pin has now set her sights on a debut pole position. However, given the limited track action before their 40 minutes of running in Practice, the French driver is cautious about the impact the additional grip could have.

“I’m feeling good, feeling ready for starting Qualifying and then Race 1 tomorrow,” said Pin. “It was a good session overall. The track was green, I think there will be a big change now driving after Formula 1. So, it will be interesting to see the track evolution, but now it’s positive. I think we have been doing good work since the beginning of the season with the team and we keep pushing."

She added: “Honestly, the target is pole position! We work for that with the team and we want to achieve that.”

Whilst she’d already gotten well-acquainted with what to expect from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during pre-season testing, Pin admits there were a few more factors to contend with in Practice – the strong seafront breeze in particular something that has the potential to catch her out.

Conditions will change once again for Qualifying, with the late night session taking place under the floodlights. Managing the need to get two solid laps on the board, she is satisfied that the opportunity is there throughout, with the tyre performance not dipping during her 15-lap session.

READ MORE: Practice: Doriane Pin sets the pace in opening Jeddah session

“Managing the wind was quite a lot during Free Practice, as well the track evolution was improving during the session,” Pin explained. “So, it was quite interesting in terms of setup, balance as it changed from one lap to another. It’s about having the ability to adapt to the conditions.

“You have 30 minutes, so I have quite a lot of time to do a lap, to find a good place on track and to not have traffic. The most important thing is to do two good laps. Obviously, that’s the challenge of Qualifying, but I think it’s interesting to show us the consistency.

“Putting two good laps together, it’s tough. But in the end, if we have new tyres, we don’t have too much deg on this track, so the lap time is quite consistent.”