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Sophia Floersch, part of the Alpine F1 Racing Academy, scored her first points in Formula 3 earlier on Sunday, July 2. In the process, she became the first-ever female driver to become a point-scorer in the F3 series.
Even though she started P20, a stellar and consistent drive around the Red Bull Ring in Austria, saw her finish P9, scoring two points. These are also the maiden points for her team, PHM Racing by Charaouz, this season.
Floersch became a part of the F3 racing back in 2020 when she was signed by Campos Racing. However, she finished that season with no points on her table. She spent the past two years gaining experience in other racing series, mainly around the World Endurance Championship.
In 2020, Floersch took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Richard Mille Racing Team and finished P9 in the LMP2 car. She also took part in the FIA WEC Championship and the European Le Mans Series, all under the same racing banner.
In early 2023, Sophia Floersch was signed as an Alpine F1 Academy Driver, giving her more facilities to train, and returned to Formula 3 with PHM Racing. Her season, up until now, was running without any points.
However, she managed to achieve her first F3 points on a mixed track in Austria. This was the sixth round in the 10-race calendar planned for Formula 3 this year.
Floersch's achievement will mark her down in the history of open-wheel racing and F1.
Endurance Racing experience helped the Alpine F1 Academy driver Sophia Floersch
As mentioned, Sophia Floersch collected valuable experience by participating in Endurance Racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In these races, it is important for drivers to save their tires to make the most advantage as the race length is immense.
Owing to the fact that the Red Bull Ring had mixed conditions (similar to the F1 Sprint race), conservation remained a major strategy. That is essentially what Floersch did. She mentioned that it was her experience in WEC that helped her in those mixed conditions in Austria.
"So it was not a surprise that there was degradation but it was that there was so much. I think after like seven laps or so we really all could feel like we have many laps to go, we need to save," she said.
"I think that's just what endurance has taught me in the past two years, to really try and save tyres and try to drive corners differently. Also when you're fighting how to really try to manage them and in the end it worked out."
