'Wasn't easy to go to America' - Sophia Floersch opens up on big Indy NXT switch

Former F3 driver Sophia Floersch announced her move to race in the Indy NXT series for the 2025 season in late December 2024. The German driver moved to the US for the same and recently came out on LinkedIn to reveal why she made the Indy NXT switch while also explaining the challenges of moving to a new continent.

Sophia Floersch raced in the European racing categories throughout her professional racing career, which is the case with most racing drivers born in Europe. Some IndyCar drivers, who were born in the Western Hemisphere, like Danica Patrick and Pato O'Ward moved to Europe for better racing opportunities.

Nonetheless, Sophia Floersch detailed the huge task ahead of her in the Indy NXT series as she opened up about the switch and wrote,

“Isn't it hard to just switch continent? I think at the end of the day, as a racing driver, you're always looking for the best for yourself and your career, where you can show your true potential and where you have the opportunity to do so. It wasn't easy to go to America because it's a completely different side of the world,” Floersch wrote in her LinkedIn post.

“Everything is different, everything is new. It's also far away from home, far away from family, friends and familiar surroundings. And all that in the tough motorsport business, even though I'm aware of it by now... it's still something else here. But in the end we made it, and I'm super proud of that,” Sophia Floersch added.

Formula 3 Championship - Round 10 Monza - Practice & Qualifying - Source: Getty

The German began her professional single-seater career in 2016 when she joined the ADAC F4 championship. In 2018, Floersch stepped up to race in the FRECA and FIA F3 championships before shifting focus to endurance racing in 2020.

Sophia Floersch returned to the stage of the F3 championship in 2023, but after two subpar years in the series where she finished 23rd and 29th in the championship, the German decided to make the Indy NXT move.

Sophia Floersch explains the approach for the Indy NXT challenge

The German driver appeared in a reel uploaded by Indy NXT’s Instagram account on February 1 and detailed how she plans on tackling the Indy NXT challenge as a rookie. Sophia Floersch, during the IndyCar media day, spoke with the media and explained the same over a video call, which was uploaded as the reel. She said,

“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.”

“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.”

The 24-year-old signed with HMD Motorsport for the 2025 Indy NXT season and will be partnering up with Hailie Deegan. The 2024 Chris Griffis Memorial Test in October was Floersch’s first outing in an Indy NXT car.