Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Sophia Floersch will finally reach the second tier of single-seaters next year when she joins HMD Motorsports in Indy Nxt.
The 24-year-old German began her car racing career in Ginetta Junior, then spent two years in Formula 4 before stepping up to FIA European Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. She missed the first three rounds, and scored one point in the remaining seven to come 22nd in the standings.
In 2019 she only spent one weekend in F3, contesting the FIA F3 World Cup-awarding Macau Grand Prix with HWA Racelab, then contested the 2020 FIA F3 Championship with Campos Racing.
Floersch left single-seaters for sportscars following that points-free campaign, coming 13th in the LMP2 class of the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, and 18th in the DTM.
She then returned to FIA F3 with the backing of the Alpine Academy, but only scored points once over two seasons with Charouz Racing System and VAR. Last year she finished 11th in the Macau GP.
HMD brings its 2025 line-up to seven cars with the signing of Floersch, and she is the second woman confirmed to be on next year’s grid.
“I’m excited about joining HMD Motorsports and coming to the United States to race in Indy Nxt,” said Floersch.
“My aspiration has always been to race with the best of the best. From the beginning of my career, I’ve worked very hard with my team daily towards that goal. I’ve raced in different categories in most of the racing markets in the world. It was only natural for us to try the US now, as it is the biggest racing market worldwide.”
She added: “The US is more open to embracing a female racer, so this makes me very excited and optimistic about the things to come.”
Floersch has experience of higher level machinery having driven in Formula E pre-season testing recently and a private Indy Nxt test. HMD’s president Mike Maurini said he was excited to announce Floersch in his team.
“She has a great team behind her, and we feel she will be able to make waves in North America. With her ultimate goal to advance to IndyCar, we look forward to helping her improve and achieve success in Indy Nxt and help try to advance her career to the next level.”