Sophia Floersch to become first female F3 racer, 18 months after horrific Macau crash

Sophia Floersch will become the first woman to race in the Formula 3 series, after she signed with Campos Racing for the 2020 season, less than 18 months after suffering spinal injuries in a horrific crash at the 2018 Macau Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old underwent surgery following the huge crash and made a full recovery, before competing in the Formula Regional European Championship, where she finished seventh.

The German went on to compete in the 2019 Macau Grand Prix, completing a remarkable comeback, for which she was presented with the Laureus World Sports Award for World Comeback of the Year. She will be the first woman to race in the category since the current F3 championship was created from the merger of GP3 and European F3 in 2019.

“I am very happy to be competing in the FIA F3 Championship together with Campos Racing,” Floersch said. “It is going to be my first season in the actual Formula 3 car with Pirelli tires, DRS and the Mecachrome engine.

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“Without any test days I have to learn a lot, but I am looking forward to competing against the best drivers.

“For me, it’s important to get better each race weekend, work together with the team and have fun. It’s going to be a great year. The experience of Adrian Campos and his team will for sure help me.”

The Grünwald-born racer made her single-seater debut back in 2015, when she joined the Ginetta Junior championship and became the youngest driver to win a race in the series. Floersch also became the first female driver to secure point-paying finishes in ADAC Formula 4.

Floersch will join Alex Peroni and Alessio Deledda at the Spanish side, which was founded by former Minardi F1 driver Adrian Campos.