"Next time we are in the car is for the first round in St. Pete": Sophia Floersch reflects on test days ahead of 2025 Indy NXT season

Sophia Floersch, who is part of the Alpine Driver Academy, is set to make her debut in the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone Championship. The series will kick off with the St. Petersburg Grand Prix on March 2, and all the teams have been busy in the last couple of months testing out their new machinery. The final two-day test at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has now concluded and Sophia Floersch recently shared an Instagram post reflecting on the same.

On February 8, the 24-year-old German driver uploaded a carousel of images and videos featuring her selfie and the livery of her car along with some scenic shots of the racetrack and the surrounding area. She captioned the post:

"Two more test days in the books 📚 Next time we are in the car is for the first round in St.Pete 🇺🇸💨 LFG ☄️ @hmdmotorsports @indynxt"

At 24 years old, Sophia Floersch has already built a strong reputation in motorsports, making history as the first woman to score points in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, where she raced until 2024 as part of the Alpine Driver Academy. In addition to her single-seater experience, she has competed in endurance racing, earning two podium finishes in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series.

She officially joined HMD Motorsports in December 2024, committing to a full season in INDY NXT, and has been adjusting to the car and the American racing scene through a series of test sessions since then.

One of her standout performances came at Sebring International Raceway in January, where she set the fifth-fastest time of the test overall and the best among all HMD drivers.

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Sophia Floersch explains her plans to ease her way into INDY NXT

Despite her experience in F3 and endurance racing, Sophia Floersch is entering a new environment in INDY NXT, especially with the mix of street circuits, road courses, and ovals. During her recent media day before the season opener, she spoke about how she plans to adapt to this new challenge.

In a reel posted on INDY NXT's official Instagram account last week, she explained her approach to her rookie year, saying:

"I think this new challenge in general has really been motivating for me over the past couple of weeks. And in the end, you know, I think it's just about getting laps...But in the end, you just gotta take it step by step and build your performance. And it's about being there in qualifying and then the races and not about being faster in the first five laps in free practice," Sophia Floersch noted.

"So that's just how I think I've always handled it and every other clever driver has handled it in the past. You need to build up your speed and get confidence for the car and for the track in the end, as I said before, simulators nowadays are really preparing you a lot to get there," she added.

She also recently shed light on her experience of shifting continents as she moved from Europe to America for the 2025 season. However, she believes that racing drivers have to be prepared to do what's best for their long-term careers.