Five years on from horror crash, F3’s Sophia Floersch sets sight on Formula 1

Alpine Academy member Sophia Floersch, currently competing in F3 with PHM and who suffered a spinal fracture in a Macau GP incident is targeting F1.

Five years on from horror crash, F3’s Sophia Floersch sets sight on Formula 1

Sophia Floersch

Back at the 2018 Macau Grand Prix, Sophia Floersch had a horrific accident. On lap 4, she made contact with Jehan Daruvala before turn 3, which caused a suspension failure. This sent her barreling through the track, and then her car went over a sausage kerb and went airborne. It further launched off Sho Tsuboi’s car and then went through the catch fencing and into a photographer’s booth. Floersch, Tsuboi, two photographers, and a marshal were all hospitalized.

The German driver, only 17 years old at the time, had a spinal fracture, and underwent a very long surgery, but made it without complications She had just finished her F3 European Championship season. In 2019, she returned to racing in the FREC, before making the step up to F3 in 2020. For her incredible recovery and return, she was awarded the ‘Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year’ for 2020. Since returning to competition, she has competed in many other events.

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These include the World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (and the European LM series), and DTM. Having joined the Alpine Academy and their Rac(H)er programme, now, Formula 1 is also on her agenda. Speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards as per RTE, she said: “I always dreamt of reaching F1 and now Alpine being behind me actually having the same goals and a clear way of how they want to get there with a woman makes it even better.”

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Floersch, who returned to F3 with PHM (by Charouz) this year, continued: “It’s obviously not just on the education side a big plus for me, but financially it’s a big help which I need in my position. I think at some point there will be a female driver in F1. In the end, when you’re all in the car, you’re all just driving to win and you don’t really care about gender, or at least that’s (the case) for me.”

Read More: BAR F1 founder unveils plans of ‘Formula Equal’ – An F1 team with 50% female drivers

Sophia Floersch hoping to reach F1 in ‘3 to 5 years’

Sophia Floersch
Sophia Floersch

The lack of women drivers in Formula 1, and generally most of motorsport (at the top) is a big issue right now. There are steps being made to tackle this, such as the start of the F1 Academy, however seeing women race in F1 still seems a few years away. Sophia Floersch acknowledges that it’s a difficult goal, but added that it’s the same case for men as well. After all, there are only 20 spots – and basically, every racing driver in the world wants them.

She said: “Nothing is easy in life and especially not motorsports. It’s difficult. In this sport there are many different things that need to fall in place – not just for a woman, but for a man.” In addition, the German driver hopes to reach the ‘pinnacle of motorsport’ a few years down the road. She added: “I hope to reach it (F1) in the next three to five years but in the end I think I’m trying to look year to year.”

It is clearly an ambitious goal. Susie Wolff, Managing Director of the F1 Academy, felt that a woman driver in F1 is 8-10 years away. It’s not an impossibility, of course. If the stars align, Floersch can make it to Formula 1. But the chances of that happening are rather low. However, targeting the pinnacle of motorsport, having recovered from such a horrific accident, just shows the German’s strong mentality.

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