“Next Step in 2025 Is…”: Female Driver Reacts as Max Verstappen Questions Women’s Progress in Motorsport

Credits: IMAGO Motorsport Images

Sophia Floersch has a befitting reply for Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver raised concerns about F1 Academy’s limitations and what were the next steps that female racers would take to advance their careers. Responding to this, Floersch revealed the immediate steps she would take to advance her motorsport ambitions.

Floersch is a 23-year-old German driver, currently competing in Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing. She shot to fame in 2020 after she raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Richard Mille Racing Team.

“If equality was really wanted and supported, it could be that simple. The next step in 2025 is @Formula2,” the German driver, who’s currently struggling in F3, wrote from her official X handle.

This comes after the Dutchman in his latest interview with De Limburger insisted that more has to be done to bring talented female drivers into F1. He feels that the cars the female racers are currently driving [F4 spec chassis] aren’t fast enough for a place in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Therefore, Verstappen asked the organizations to come up with faster cars despite the presence of sponsorships from F1 teams. At the end of the day, competing on a higher level would increase a driver’s chance to reach F1.

Max Verstappen’s suggestion for women in motorsport

Max Verstappen is an avid sim racing fan and one of the best in the world. Since he enjoys this hobby, he has also suggested women drivers try out this version of racing to have a better chance of receiving the attention of the top teams.

The Red Bull driver mentioned that he only sees male drivers on his side [Team Redline]. However, he wouldn’t mind having a female driver, but the only criterion is that she has to be fast! Reiterating the same, the 26-year-old said, “Team bosses don’t look at whether someone is a boy or a girl. It’s about how fast they are.”

Coming back to Floersch, she had an objection when the all-female W Series set up its own online championship in 2020, before Verstappen put forward his idea. The International Championship for Female Drivers partnered with iRacing to allow its drivers to race at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the German driver labeled it as “marketing stuff” and pointed out that the idea promoted “Segregation!” While it was not enough, Sophia Floersch also garnered huge attention when she openly called out the now-defunct W Series. She stated that the organization and teams use women to improve their image and do not really support them.