Sophia Floersch is in her third season of Formula 3, making her the most experienced driver in the series. Ahead of the third round in Imola, Floersch spoke to Feeder Series during a virtual media roundtable about her upcoming documentary focused on her racing comeback and her constantly evolving experience.

By Tori Turner

Last season, Sophia Floersch became the first female driver to score points in F3, making history and marking a milestone for the sport. Before that, the German driver was known for her horrific crash during the 2018 Macau Grand Prix, where she suffered a spinal fracture after her car was launched into the catch fence and into a nearby photography bunker. Floersch miraculously recovered from her injury, immediately returned to racing and later won the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year, the only motorsports driver to do so in its history.

Her rehabilitation and initial return to racing was later turned into a 90-minute feature documentary. #RACEGIRL – The Comeback of Sophia Flörsch, directed by Sonia Otto, will premiere on German TV on May 26th. 

“The documentary was actually produced during the year 2022, so they followed me for 16 months. It was released last year in May,” she told Feeder Series ahead of the full release, the documentary previously only being available through a paywall. “And now, in two weeks, we have a prime time slot for the 92 minutes on the German Television which is obviously really cool.”

After its release last year, the documentary went on to be nominated at the International Motor Film Awards. 

“I guess it’s just something really special to have a documentary about yourself,” she said. “I just hope that I and we with the film also reach people who are not that interested in motorsports for them to actually understand the sport as well. And that is something really special and just an amazing thing to do.”

The documentary does not extend to her recent campaigns in F3 where Floersch has made clear improvements in results. Her return to F3 last year, after two years away from the series, saw her challenge for points at the Red Bull Ring before later being disqualified for a technical non-conformity, before reclaiming those points back in Spa-Francorchamps. Last year also saw her join the Alpine Academy, as well as becoming an ambassador for their Rac(H)er programme.

Floersch also returned to the Macau Grand Prix with Van Amersfoort Racing, coming full circle for the team she competed with when she had her crash. Returning to her old team for 2024 as a veteran in the series, she is always looking to improve on her results. 

“You can always keep on learning and I think every single one still learns something from a race weekend and in the car and that’s the same for me,” she told Feeder Series. “I would never say that I’ve learned enough and I know everything and that’s for sure not the case.”

“Even though it’s my third season, I’m still here to learn, to get mileage and to use what I know to bring it on track.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency