Sophia Floersch returns to Macau in VAR entry

Sophia Floersch is set to enter the 2023 Macau Grand Prix in the #19 Van Amersfoort Racing's entry - returning to the iconic Guia street circuit for the third time. In a place full of meaning for the young German driver, she will be one of the most experienced at the track.

Photo credits: Alpine Academy

Sophia Floersch is set to return to Macau for her third participation in the iconic Grand Prix, making her one of the most experienced drivers on the grid at the extraordinarily challenging street circuit.

Floersch, 22, returned to FIA Formula 3 after spending a couple of years in sports car racing - both in the GT3-based DTM as well as in LMP2 prototypes in European Le Mans Series as well as FIA World Endurance Championship, where she had the chance to enter three editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. She was ninth in class in her first ever participation (2020), and fifth in the LMP2 ProAm category in 2022.

Having expressed her interest to keep her single seater options open, Floersch had the opportunity to enter the 2023 FIA F3 season with new team PHM Racing - having also joined the Alpine Academy. With support of the F1 team junior programme, Floersch was back in the top third-tier series after three years since her last participation, but adapted quickly and was consistently the fastest driver of her team.

Despite a few unfortunate circumstances towards the start of the season, Floersch kept making good progress and, as she got back up to speed with the car, she was consistently battling around the top-15. The Red Bull Ring round - one of her favourite circuits - represented a breakthrough point of the season and the German driver claimed her first top ten with a stunning charge to ninth place. Unfortunately, a post race technical inspection ended in a disqualification for a displaced front wing endplate, but Floersch continued to impress in the following rounds, eventually making history with a seventh place in Spa Francorchamps - where she became the first woman to score points in the series since its rebranding. Her season ended on a high with another strong performance in Monza.

Floersch completed the season with six points, by far the best of her team. The young driver from Munich returned behind the wheel for the post season tests - this time reuniting with Van Amersfoort Racing, the team that she had raced for in both the F3 European Championship in 2018 and Formula Regional European Championship in 2019.

At her first outing in Jerez, Floersch was ninth after the first day of testing with the Dutch team.

Over the next weeks of testing at Jerez, Barcelona and Imola, Floersch completed a combined total of 417 laps and, despite some weather disruptions, she made good improvements in the six days of track time.

With the Formula 3 World Cup event at Macau approaching, Floersch will return to Van Amersfoort Racing in the #19 car for the iconic race.

Sophia first entered the Macau GP in 2018, where she was famously involved in the horrific accident that left her with a spinal fracture. Her recovery was one of the most inspiring stories of the year: four months later she was back in a race car.

The Macau event has always represented a second home to Floersch, who was almost born again after escaping miraculously from the crash. One year later, Sophia returned to the mighty street track in a HWA Racelab entry, finishing 21st in the qualifying race before a gearbox issue took her out of contention in the main race. But her return was nevertheless one of the big stories of that edition, and the German quickly became a fan favourite among the enthusiasts of the race.

While the event itself has been heavily disrupted by the Covid pandemic, as the Grand Prix was contested as part of the Chinese F4 series and mostly inaccessible to drivers outside of China. Formula 3 machinery will return to the streets of the 6.120 km legendary Guia Circuit in 2023, with Sophia Floersch as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid of the main event.

The race is scheduled for 16-19 November, with 27 cars expected on the grid. PHM Racing - the team that ran Floersch during the 2023 FIA F3 season - will not enter the race.

Floersch at the 2019 Macau GP / Photo by: Drew Gibson