Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Sophia Floersch has been living life in the fast lane for the past few weeks. She followed up a triple header at Barcelona, Spielberg and Silverstone with a quick visit to the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend. Earlier on, the German racer was out in a special test at Silverstone alongside Chloe Chambers. And now, she is setting herself up for another Formula 3 double header.
Floersch tested a Formula 2 car around Silverstone on July 12th and 13th, alongside F1 Academy driver Chloe Chambers, who races for Campos in the all-female series in the Haas-liveried car.
The main goal of the test was to ensure greater accessibility of both spec series to accomodate a wider range of drivers and make the series as accessible as possible to the best of the talent.
Floersch is into her second Formula 3 season this year, having switched allegiances from PHM Racing (now AIX Racing) to Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) alongside Noel Leon and Tommy Smith for 2024. The German is also an Alpine Academy driver, and became the first female driver to score points when she finished seventh in the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps last year.
Having tested the newer iteration of the Formula 2 car around Silverstone, and Chambers testing the Formula 3 car, Floersch responded to DIVEBOMB and other select media about the technicalities of the test, apart from discussions with Chambers about the test.
"It was the first time I met Chloe (Chambers) too. We had similar programmes, she was testing the Formula 3 car, and I was testing the Formula 2 car."
Floersch also remarked of the Formula 2 cars being extremely heavy, and the absence of power steering making the car difficult to steer.
These cars are still too heavy (to drive), and there's no power steering. It's like you can't expect to go to McDonalds to eat and then go to the gym," she joked, referring to the levels of fitness required to drive the Formula 2 cars.
Regarding female racers making it higher up the racing ladder, Floersch responded: "We all love what we do, and that just gives us the motivation to keep pushing."
Apart from a test at Silverstone, Floersch would make her way over 129 miles down south, to the decorated motor racing town of Goodwood for the Festival of Speed, being a part of the Alpine contingent alongside Formula 2 racer Kush Maini, and Alpine reserve Jack Doohan.
The trio were all set to drive the 2012 Lotus E20, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean's car for the season. Draped in the Alpine livery, the engine note of the V8 powerplant in the rear of the machine was defeaning, as Floersch would describe it:
"Doing Goodwood (Festival of Speed) for an F1 team in an F1 car is insanely cool, and I'm super proud and thankful that I got the opportunity to do to two show runs on Sunday for Alpine in the 2012 car," she responded.
"To be fair, I didn't really expect, even under the helmet, the car would be really loud. It was really nice, it gave me goosebumps," Floersch described.
"I've been to Goodwood before, and everyone knows how busy it is, and how the atmosphere is when you go up the hill for the first time. It was cool."
The Alpine junior then delves into her amazing yet hectic schedule over the weekend, having hopped over from the Formula 2 car at Silverstone to a Formula One car at Goodwood, expressing her delight as to how it couldn't have been a better weekend.
"Obviously, I had the two days of F2 testing before, and then jumping into the F1 car on Sunday, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend," the German racer responded.
Floersch is part of the Alpine junior academy, as she forms a part of the French team's famous Race(H)er initiative alongside F1 Academy championship leader Abbi Pulling, as well as young female karters under the programme.
While she is looking forward to the future, Floersch is quick to point out how Alpine's involvement has gotten her to where she is today.
"I think, you know, we need to see what the future brings. But, you know, being part of a junior programme or an academy of an F1 team is helpful in many different ways, and it has made me feel better," Floersch says.
"It is thanks to them (Alpine) that I am on the grid in F3, back here (in Formula 3), and opportunities like this (Goodwood) open up doors, and it makes me super proud," the Alpine junior caps off, as she expresses her gratitude towards Alpine for all the opportunities.
In a field of 30 racers, Floersch remains the only female racer on the Formula 3 grid, and one can only imagine how she would be looking over her shoulders for any of her F1 Academy companions to race hard and make the step up to race on the ladder to Formula One in the future.
You can catch Floersch and the rest of the Formula 3 grid in action at the Hungaroring later this weekend, as Formula 3 action kicks off on Friday, with free practice one at 09:55 local time.
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