-"Lewis Hamilton"
-My amibition is to get to Formula 1,
-definetly
-"Max Verstappen"
-"Sebastian Vettel"
-I'd like to get to Formula 1, too
Not "like", want!
-What's your dream?
-To become a Formula 1 driver!
What draws you to kart racing?
You can contend,
and be faster than the boys!
Sophia started, I think, when she was 5
and you could already see
that she had fun
and was talented There was no stopping it
Once Sophia sets a goal,
she'll do anything to achieve it
Sophia Flrsch wins it,
the 14 year old German lady racer
makes Ginetta Junior history
We are ready for the historic
Macau Grand Prix
A place where young drivers' careers
can be launched to fame and fortune
Hi guys, I'm still at home
I'm just packing my last thing,
which is my helmet,
and then I'm heading to the airport
and then we go to Macau
I took her to the airport and felt
really strange, which never happens
I try to be at her races when I can
But she knows that I think of her
when I can't be there
-Dad? Say hi to Laetizia!
-Hi, Laetizia
Morning guys I'm quite nervous,
because it's my first time in Macau
It's completely different
compared to other race tracks
And it's unbelievably cool Seriously,
I thought it's gonna be really fun,
but this is incredible
The track is so nice and just so difficult,
and you really need to be on the limit
with the walls to be fast
And get to get this right, you just need
so much confidence with the car
Good afternoon everyone, and a warm
welcome to the Macau Grand Prix for 2018
A place where young drivers' careers
can be launched to fame and fortune
What a sight, Mick Schumacher,
Ferdinand Habsburg,
the only female:
Sophia Flrsch of Munich in Germany
I don't know how many hours
I spent in the simulator
to prepare for Macau, to know
exactly how to drive the corners
The streets of Macau could not be
predictable in any way, shape or form
You might have a plan, but that plan can
go out of the window in seconds here
The adrenaline will surely be rising
Win here, and your life
can change dramatically
We are ready for the historic 65th running
of the Macau Grand Prix
Out go the lights and away we go,
and a good start by the leaders
At first you couldn't see who it even was
You only knew there was an accident
and saw the car on the heap of tyres
And then they showed the car
and I saw Sophia's race number
Messages started coming from friends:
Don't look on YouTube
-When I saw the video I thought: It's all over
-"Laetizia Flrsch, Sophia's sister"
You could just see the nose
of the car lying across the fence
I told Laetizia right away: It's Sophia
-At the time I was sure she hadn't survived
-"Susanne Flrsch-Painhofer"
My dad didn't know anything about it,
nobody told him anything
You get thousands of messages from people
you've not talked to in ten years,
because they all saw it
In the Asian city of Macau
there was a horrific crash today
in a Formula 3 Grand Prix race
A car driven by a 17 year old racer
went flying
The tragedy happened early, in lap 4
The 17 year old from Munich
crashed backwards
though the barrier at over 270 km/h
We've just had a pretty big crash
with Sophia
I hope she's really doing well
Flrsch had no time to react when a car
in front of her braked due to a yellow signal
The accident left her
with several spinal fractures,
the teen in surgery for eleven hours
A fraction of a millimetre either way
could have been worse
We were so, so lucky
In retrospect no idea
I've not talked in depth with anyone
about the accident
Not even my sister knows all the details
I think it would only upset her more
It's always hard with family
I can't see it in focus any more
There are two
The sport means everything to me,
and if I had to quit,
I don't know what I'd do
But nothing would give me
as much satisfaction as racing does
I'm gonna head to the doctor now
It's my first CT after being in Germany
So, two more minutes and I'm there,
and then six more minutes
and I'm gonna be in the CMy heart is racing at 140 or so
I really hope that we see
some bone growing together
When this happens,
I'm allowed to drive again
-Is that okay?
-Yes
Let's start, okay?
Here we go
The pictures showed that my bone
is growing together again
and this means that I'm able to do
or allowed to do everything again
I'm allowed to train my neck again,
then hopefully be back in the car
beginning of March,
depends on the weather But I'm healed!
I'm allowed to jump again!
Of course, such an accident changes you
I would be lying if I said it hasn't
Okay, it's a risky sport, but now
I know how quickly it could all be over,
how quickly life could change
Maybe I'm a little more positive
I think I'm just happy right now
I wanna drive
You wanna jump in?
It's a few more minutes
You can't really jump in
and check the belts
It's four minutes till green
It's so wild to sit in the car again
I have goosebumps
Cool! I've never felt so excited
Ready to rumble It's getting serious
I have to go down now to get the car
And then it's time for the red carpet
Oh, I'm nervous!
This year the Laureus Academy
has chosen as its winner a woman
who has fought back
from a horrific crash to race again
Out of the pits and up onto the podium,
please welcome Sophia Flrsch!
Thank you very much
I'm standing in front of you all,
you are actually my idols
and who I look up to, Lewis
This is incredible
Hopefully I'm going to be here
in some years again
as sportswoman of the year
Have a great evening!
An accident like that affects you,
of course, it's hard on you mentally
Even if I act on the outside
like everything is fine,
when I feel bad, things come up again
The accident made me much more famous
because the video went viral
But in terms of the sport, it set me back
Of course, I'm the girl with the crash now
I want to change that this year to become the
girl with the accident who had the success
We want to put Sophia in the highest
category of racing that we can
It's incredibly difficult
for a female racing driver
For next year, the critical thing
is having the right people around her,
having the right equipment
to do the results that you need
We have a great test opportunity
with a team called Algarve Pro Racing
that I think are competitive
Coming to a new team
is always a bit strange
I have to win them over and show them
that I want to work
and that my goal is to perform
If the test goes well,
I might be able to drive for the team
in the season finale in a powerful car,
in which you can really compete
for a place in the top 3
Sophia is a racing driver
It's her identity, it's who she is
Fear of failure is the thing
that will drive her to push
until she gets where she wants to be
Your daughter is fast
That's that She just needs more
-more push now
-Yes
-More drive
-This is why we want to enter in a team
like yours, and then she has to work
Good job Big improvement on yesterday
If we just concentrate on baby steps,
it's just more laps the quicker you go
But do you think that
yesterday I actually improved?
-What Yes
-In the afternoon? Because Ferdi was doing
Just to know where I stand, you know
I'm sharing the car
with two experienced drivers,
Ferdinand Habsburg and Richard Bradley,
both have already won Le Mans,
which is really cool
And both are in the gold driver category
Richard Bradley is a legend
And Ferdi Habsburg is actually a prince
And he's one of the best guys
I've met in motorsport in all these 16 years
On the straight I was like: Red, red, red
-Why, why, why?
-Oh, man
-Yes, very good
-You have a little hole down here
I know, it's for air conditioning
I've known him since Formula 3
He was with me in hospital in Macau,
sitting next to my bed
Motorsport is a macho world
So someone like Ferdi really stands out
Looking at what Sophia has done
this morning and yesterday,
now she's on full fuel,
doing similar to what you're doing
down low 30s, going to break the 29
soon as the fuel load comes off
-Nice
-So I think it makes a lot of sense
-to pick her as the driver for
-Yeah
-You know, there's a lot of potential there
-I agree
I agree Will be cool to see her
with our car See how she gets on
It was clear then that I could race
in the season finale for them
They got confirmation that I can perform
and really support the team
It was funny yesterday
when I did the seat fit
Positioning and making them in the right
shape, making sure the bag's right
So you're touching your bottom
And I'm like, uh I just said:
"Sophia, I'm just going to treat you
like one of the lads, alright? I'm married"
And then I just started grabbing her arse
But you know, what do you do?
You've got to do the job
-I get it, man I get it
-"Where do you want the foam?"
-Sophia's cool like that
-And she's like: No dramas Get on with it
-Is that your logo?
-No
No? Okay
I don't have any except for the
well, all of them
-Except for the
-Except for the obvious ones
No problem I know
which to take off, now
So we can replace them with Sophia's
-Bye
-Bye
Yeah I'm so happy!
It's going to be great!
We'll be on the podium!
Sophia has been drafted into taking
a spot in our team in our LMP2 car
It's the first time we've had a female
driving in one of our cars
Ever When I first got into the industry,
men were scared, more than anything,
of what women could do
and women could achieve within it
And I still think sometimes men are
I think motorsport it's good
because I think it's a leveller It's just
I disagree I think we have to work harder
100%, we have to work harder than a man
a) to be taken seriously
and b) to compete with them
-You find that
-I find that
-I don't see it because I treat you as a man
-I disagree Every But
Every interview I ever have,
the first question is always:
What's it like to be a woman in motorsport?
I once actually said: Well, when I was a man,
it was completely different
I do this sport because it's cool that
as a woman you have no disadvantages,
physically, compared to men
So why should you separate the two?
That's why I'll keep on racing
against the best in my sport
That's where I learn the most
Ferdi will drive the qualifying for us
It's crucial: The position you finish
in decides your starting place
The fastest starts in position 1,
the second in 2
It's how to prove yourself as a driver
This is provisional pole
I'll keep you posted
Provisional pole at the moment Stand by
Okay Ferdi, I'm sorry
It's P2 P2 behind Cool Racing
But mega qualifying!
-We're in the game, huh?
-yes
-good job!
-So what is it? Cool, us, Nyck?
-And then Jamin
-Jamin
-Jamin
-And then
And then I don't know
hell, if that car's in fourth
that's the only thing you'll be like,
God, it's just like the psycho
train's behind you
They're all mental
Every single one of them
Don't worry, we've got Richard "the unit"
for the first stint to just smash it
At the start, don't worry
You'll be alright
He's going to have a clear sight
He's still going to be flashing
-He's going to be flashing
-He's still going to be flashing
-I want to see that
-You will! He's going to be on the
100% on the start I will be
Until we have to line up, I will be flashing
If you really zoom in, you'll see him
giving the finger to the guy next to him
We went out for dinner
and were talking about the racing,
she seemed confident about today
So the feeling was all pretty upbeat
And then, when we got here today,
we sort of found out
she had a night of basically being sick
and feeling pretty unwell
She had a pretty rough, rough evening,
being sick and stuff like that
-Did she have shellfish?
-No
This race for her is really important
If she does a good result,
-and she shows everybody where she is
-Yeah
It will give all the people
that need to step up
-Well I mean, ideally, yeah
-and help her
the reason to not say no anymore
The 4 hours of Portimo
gets under way now
You only get one chance to give an
impression when the world's watching you
You've got a very small window
to show your own quality
You need to align the stars
as best as you can
Sophia Flrsch from Germany now
very much found a hom in sports car racing,
when it looked like she would go
in the single seater route
Had a horrific crash at Macau
-Didn't she?
-two years ago
-It was m*ssile like, wasn't it?
-It was
Box, do a full service, four tyres,
driver change for Sophia
Come on Sophia! Come on!
Sophia Flrsch,
who is running second place
and churning out some cracking life
lap times, 133.9 last time around
-Catching the leader at the moment
-Yes
We got them!
Yes!
Tyre failure!
Can you describe please?
I have a tyre failure!
Do you need to box?
I have no idea
what's happened to them
Okay, box, box Tyres in the pit lane,
tyres in the pit lane, now
Full tank, driver change
Sophia box box
Okay, guys, tyres in the pit lane,
she's coming in Full stop Full tank
Driver change for Ferdi
When you're in the car
you never know if you're fast or not
Sophia, you should be happy
You only lost two seconds!
The team just confirmed
that I was very good
Of course I'm extremely pleased
Ferdi will finish the race for us
I'll keep my fingers crossed
Ferdi Habsburg in the 24 Algarve
Pro Racing Oreca
Great run this afternoon from that team!
Yes!
Okay Ferdi, this is chequered flag
It's chequered flag,
Ferdinand, slow down
Ferdinand Habsburg for Algarve
Pro Racing sharing the car
with Sophia Flrsch
and Richard Bradley, finished third
P3 mate! P3! We have a podium, mate!
Mega job, mate!
Super, super job!
Yes We got a podium!
We got a podium! Oh yeah!
Mega job Great job
Most drivers at this level are fast,
but it's how you deal
with adverse situations,
which you can really see
how people can handle situations
And she was very, very calm
when the tyre delaminated
She kept her composure and because of that
we've ended up with a strong result
See how important
having a good silver is?
It's not a question of "oh girls"
-I know Yeah
-Put good drivers in the car
Sophia's proved she's a good driver
Third step of the podium
for Algarve Pro Racing
Richard Bradley, Sophia Flrsch
and Ferdinand Habsburg
All three of them
with very good drives, indeed
I suspect Sophia Flrsch
is the first female driver
to go on an overall podium in the ELMS
Yes, that's a good shout as well
And I think probably
the best result of the year for car 24
It was good for me
to have that recognition again
and be on a podium again,
spray champagne again,
although it felt like I forgot how!
The podium was very important for me
because it put the accident behind me
I can't believe the season is finished,
it feels like it's
It's been way too quick
What you've got at the moment
with Ferdinand and Richard,
the three of you are all very close
And that's why as a line up,
it works And also the dynamic
Like, I know that you've known
Ferdinand for quite some time in F3
Richard's quite a laid back guy,
I hear, so it's quite a good dynamic
And the key thing is:
You have to be in the right team,
you have to have
the right people around you
-For sure
-I'll speak to Stewart,
'cause he and I were going to catch up
When's the right time for us
to circle back around
and try and see what a car
would look like for next year?
The earlier we start talking
about next year,
the better it's going to be from our side
I think with Sophia's potential,
we need to look a bit broader
to see who we can pull in
I think with her pace this week,
from what we've seen,
I think there will be a lot more people
that were initially a bit sceptical
of driving with Sophia,
now turn around and say:
We want to drive in your team
with Sophia as a silver driver
A lot of people think the teams
come around and pay the drivers
And it's not actually the case
It's the other way around
In motorsport, no driver gets paid
until they reach the world championships
The teams tend to get paid by the drivers
Finding a way to finance this is so difficult
With Sophia, she wants to do something
-that perhaps has never been done
-"Chris Harfield, Sophia's Manager"
by any female in the sport
And, you know, she's lucky
that her family are willing to do
whatever they can,
but there are limits
And she spends a lot of time,
a lot of effort to show value
by promoting herself
She works really, really well with sponsors,
and she needs to do that
It's not just race weekends,
training and driving in the simulator,
it's also media work, sponsor work,
events that I have to attend
Let's go!
Yes Turn slightly
Drivers whose families have money
and who don't need sponsors,
they don't need to do this
They don't care about media attention
because they don't need it,
but I do It's part of it And that's
why my calendar is always very full
Three, two, one!
Three, two, one
At the end of the season,
all drivers and teams
have to see what the set up will be
when they compete next year
So I'm testing with different teams
It was vital to Sophia that many teams
saw how fast she was in Portimo
For the first time, it was obvious
Sophia will now do a test drive
with the best team, WRShe'll be compared to three other drivers
who are among the favourites
And the test will really prove
just how good she is
Okay Ferdi, you will have traffic,
so box this lap, box, box
Driver change to Sophia
My pleasure, you fouls
Radio check if you can Sophia
Yes, very good
So the reference lap time in the car
is a 52.7 Ferdinand did a 52.8
Pace is very good, pace is very solid
I would like to say something
about your pace,
but it's so consistent it's almost too good
So keep this up, five laps to go
Good job, good job, you've improved
your lap time again, 50.87
You are quicker
than we ever were in qualifying
I don't think I've ever driven a car
that worked as well as that one
It was crazy fast
but also super easy to drive
-How are you doing?
-I'm hot
Hot? Good driving
Everything okay?
I was extremely fast
I was faster than Ferdi
I drove the fastest time for the team
The boys were really pleased and surprised
Crazy what different cars can do
Is it very different?
-Jonas is like
-No, in general, it's a lot
Like in general, it's just overall
a lot more grip and the entries
-And?
-She's saying it's sh*t
-Really?
-The stability is awful
Like she can't believe
we were driving so well
I think the qualifying time
was already your time, no?
-I like your car
-Yeah?
Okay, so we do an end of day debrief
-Can I get changed first?
-Yeah, yeah, sure, take your time
For me, this is like another world
So 'Cause in Algarve
I mean, I just drove this one
and the Algarve Pro with Ferdi in ELMS
-Yeah
-It's incredible the difference
-I mean, all in all, compared to Jaffar,
-"Jonas Vanpachtenbeke, race engineer"
it was one and a half seconds quicker
on the first stint,
and on the second one it was,
I think, 0.7 or 1 second
-I know what I'm going to push for
-Yeah
Let's see if we can work together
in the future
And we'll be looking forward to it
So, yeah, thanks for today
-Yes Thank you
-You're welcome Safe trip home
and then let's see where we see
each other in the future
I want to go to the beach now
Sit down over here, for just a minute
Yes, okay?
Good Really good, eh? Exhausted?
I'm so exhausted I feel like sh*t now
You feel like sh*t? Wow
I know what I want for next year
For my Christmas present
-A WRT car?
-Yes
If your team doesn't win
with a car like that, then
It's different,
-right?
-I'm tired now
-Exhausted? Blisters on your foot?
-Yes
-Brake pedal?
-Yes
-How's your nose?
-Really bad
Always looking around I remember that
And how I'm holding the steering wheel
-I only just missed the curb
-Yes
-Look at how young you were, Dad!
-I still am!
-Stop laughing
-Sexy sunglasses, Dad!
-You still own those trousers
-Such a freak
How cool!
There's no one else on the track Bump
Me wth my pink gloves!
I had to show them how it's done
Competitive sport and a normal childhood
are very different
They're two different worlds,
you can't compare them
It's a huge burden on family life, a challenge
Oh my God, how sweet was that?
When I was young I had role models,
of course, but they were mostly male
At the time, we had a kart race in Italy,
I was very good in the race
and came 2nd or 3rd
Michael came up to me and said:
Sophia, you did a very good race
He hugged me and I thought:
Wow, Michael Schumacher hugged me!
I'll never forget that
It would have been great if there had
also been a woman to look up to
Some of the boys I know from karting days
are now driving in Formula 1
There is not one single woman there
He's coming Verstappen is coming
Sit! sit! Down! Down!
Is this Max?
It's crazy how many more people
vote for Max on Instagram
-Yeah
-But everywhere
-Is it like that?
-Everywhere 80% Max, 20% Lewis
With Lewis, they either really like him
or they or they don't
To be honest, I do not understand,
why Max has so many
-Why he has so many fans?
-Yes
-No, I just think
-Because he's a character
He's exciting to watch, right?
-Go for it, just do it, send it!
-Just send it You have the quickest lap
No, he's done End of story
Lewis will be livid
He will be absolutely livid
Why don't we start by going through
what the options are for next year
and where we are today?
WRT will definitely be the best package
that you've been a part of,
probably even a step up again
from the ELMS team Right?
But the downside of it is that,
you know, there is a
there is a million
we've got a million euro
problem right? to solve,
and we don't exactly have a lot of time
I can say to WRT,
well, you know,
yeah, ideally we'd like to sign with you,
but unless you find a way
to help us with the financials
we don't have a choice, right?
And at least
Not for a million and not for 700,000,
so maybe
yeah, Our problem is to find sponsorships
before we close the contract
It's not possible It's not realistic
I think with Vincent,
what I proposed to him,
the payment plan, was like a tiny
a little bit a little bit on signing,
but the majority of it
was after the race Right
But I think with Vincent, if we say
we can't pay whatever he's asking for now,
the question is: How long do we stretch it
and how long do we dare underwrite?
I wouldn't say we can sign for 700k
even if it's long term I mean, he knows
Otherwise, if he would have been
completely against it
because I told him: I want to be honest
and if it's 450 500 maximum,
we can sign And if he would
have been completely against it,
he would have said:
Yeah, well, no chance we can do it
For me, it's 500
-Bye, Chris Safe trip
-You have everything, right?
Tizi?
Oh, it's cold
Why do you think next year will be great,
like you were just saying?
It's the best car and team Even if you
don't win, you'll be on the podium
-Who drove for WRT last year?
-Habsburg They won everything
-Ah, where you were
-That's where I tested
They won Le Mans, they won ELMS,
-they won WEC
-Yes
That's why I'll bet you
all of my handbags on it
-You own six It's not enough
-ou'll get all of them
I'll bet that next year
they'll be on the podium twice At least
I can't wait to go skiing
-I can't wait for the aprs ski
-Me neither!
Is it as cool as this where you are?
I doubt it
Yo, peeps I wish you all Merry Christmas
And, um
Peace
Hi Chris
Well, actually, good news
I would say, not bad
Pretty good ones,
but pretty confusing ones
So, I had the call with a racing team,
let's say
Their big goal is to bring a woman into F1
So they came up with the idea to put
the woman in Formula Regional next year,
in 2023 in F3, and in 2024 in F2
That's the goal They want
That's what they want to do
And they want me as the driver
Have you driven a regional car?
-You have, haven't you?
-Yes, I drove it in 2019
And I actually promised myself
that I would never drive this car again
You would never do it again
Okay, well maybe we make an exception
You need someone like this
You have to do it the way they want
If they can guarantee that,
just those two years, now
then we'd sign it Immediately
Done If it were for me, it would be done
Alright, let me know
as soon as you hear from them
Yeah Will do
There's no question about it
The offer's so good,
you have to cancel any others
I hope they don't make me do Regional,
and I can jump into F3
Don't be so mean about it, Sophia
Regional, in the meantime
-It's not all that bad anymore
-I'd be competing against 15 year olds
-I have to start over
-But you have the chance
to write the story, Sophia!
People go back to school at 40
for the chance to study at university
Life's not over! You have a chance,
you can't refuse to take it
It's eased the strain on you, eh?
No, I don't know
I'm really exhausted
Every year we have to struggle for options
This year, we didn't know until February
Every week a different plan,
and now so many all at once
I'm a bit overwhelmed
In 16 years, nothing like this ever happened
To me it looks like you're dealing
with feeling happy
Let it sink in, so much happiness
at once is hard to cope with
Take a little time to settle
But what more do you want?
A Formula 1 contract
When I got the call, I was excited
Because of the prospect
of returning to Formula racing
But then it turned out
to be more complicated than that,
and unfortunately they all quoted prices
that we just couldn't afford
That day, I felt I'd had enough of the world
Then I got a call from the manager of WRT,
the team from the test in Bahrain,
he said he signed another driver
who payed 60% or 70% of the overall budget
The overall budget for a WRT car
is 32 million
So the other driver payed 70% of that
There's no way on earth
that I can compete with that
So he told me the seat is taken
but he wished me all the best anyway,
and hopes
we'll collaborate one day
I remember, I was sitting in the car
and just burst into tears
But Sam and Stewart of APR
stayed loyal to us
They made us a fair offer,
which is a rare thing in motorsport
This year, I'll drive ELMS
and 24 hours of Le Mans,
with G Drive as the main sponsor
of the team,
it's a subsidiary company of Gazprom
It was important for us
because this year I have to go for
performance and I have to achieve success
In images shown around the world,
a heavily pregnant woman
is carried injured from the ruins
Russian troops attacked
a maternity hospital in Mariupol
It's terrible to see images like this
Hospitals being bombed,
and children fleeing,
knowing that it is happening
only about 800 kilometres
away from where I live
I think my generation never really thought
that we'd experience another w*r
And so close as well
I can't, as Sophia,
I can't be associated
with a Russian company
Realistically, could you be involved
with them with what's gone on?
You can't Yeah, you can't
And, like you say,
everything has had to change
So literally, over night,
we lost three million euros
It's really tight We're getting zero money
for that seat effectively
-Still talking to Habsburg
-For ELMS?
-For ELMS
-I mean that would be really cool
I messaged him yesterday, but he's busy
Yeah, okay I know that he's
or his parents, his family
they are really involved
with the Ukraine thing, so
But yeah, I'm going to text him or call
and see if I can get him motivated
to race with me this year
and get some podiums and wins
-Hello!
-Greetings!
-Hello, hello!
-How are you?
-Super
-Where are you?
-Vienna
-Vienna, nice
-I'm doing an Ikea build I love it
-Ikea?
We're building a wardrobe, because
Gloria needs more room for her dresses
-We're doing some teamwork
-Nice
We're putting it together with
a Ukrainian friend who's living with us
-Ah, cool
-He's helping us
Great Do you know why I am calling?
-Because of ELMS?
-Yes
-Oh! Oh yeah,
-Oh! Imagine being teammates this year!
-let's hear the pitch
-Just imagine
The ELMS season finale in Portimo
last year was a great start
Imagine carrying on the story this year
with podiums and wins,
because last year we conceded the win
Think how cool that would be
I'd love to do that with you
I know Me, too But to be totally clear,
another team has asked me
They have an even sweeter offer
But of course I'd like to be
with Stewart and you
I have to wait to hear from a few people
before I can say okay
But in principle I'd love to
-Happy building and say hi to Gloria!
-Thank you
-And, yes, have a nice evening
-You too
-Kiss, bye
-Kiss, bye bye
A kiss for Ferdi
Such a cool guy, I love him
-Hello! How are you?
-Good
It's a miracle you found the way here
and didn't board the wrong plane
-We're in the south of France,
-Hello!
but you're wearing a pullover
And brought a coat
-You said we need jackets!
-It was freezing cold
-It was cold
-Until the sunshine arrived
This weekend is the first race
of the ELMS season in Le Castellet
It's the kick off for 2022
The last few weeks weren't easy
for any of us
Our main sponsor and my two
Russian team mates dropped out
So we had to find new team mates
who could also bring in a lot of money
Ferdi is sadly racing for another team
where he doesn't have to pay
So I'm competing in ELMS against him
-Women are always early
-Of course
Tell me about it!
Just Are you going to ask
about the G Drive situation?
-The No, no, no, no worries
-Good Thanks
There's no agenda there at all
Who are we waiting for? Everybody
Yeah Everybody Yifei first,
you second Pietro in the middle
And then we'll put Antoine,
and then we'll put Michael at the end
-Fassbender?
-Yeah
With the sexiest man alive
By the way, he greeted me this morning
We walked downstairs together
and said: "Good morning!"
Welcome everybody,
to the first press conference
for a brand new season
of the European Le Mans Series 2022
Sophia, welcome to your first full season
of the European Le Mans Series
You're already part of ELMS history
after a brilliant run
at Portimo with Algarve Pro,
and the first ever female racer
to stand on the overall podium
with Ferdi Habsburg and Richard Bradley
You're back this year with the same team,
but with a new teammate, Bent Viscaal
You're the only two driver line up
in the LMP2 field
What's the reason for that?
Well, the reason for that
is a little bit complex, a little bit political,
because of the Russian Ukraine situation
right now
But, um, obviously, because of this,
I lost two teammates
and the team lost the team sponsor,
let's say So, pretty late in the year,
actually, we had to search for other drivers
Other drivers actually being
able to bring in budget
And then we kind of, yeah,
we found Bent, who's really quick
Who proved already in Formula 2
with two podiums that he is really quick
Can both of you scribble your names
on here for me, please?
-I'll do it for you
-Oh, you are?
-Yes, I'm a woman I am nice
-Yeah, I was about to say that
-Who'd like to go first?
-I thought we'd do it together
-Yes, we've got individuals and together
-You can do it first,
because you're the model
Okay Don't look too angry
Yes
Maybe you can lean on his back
or something?
Proud family
You had a baby tyre
And it's three, two, one, stop!
Okay, let's do that again
-it's hot!
-What?
It's hot How many more
are we going to do?
-Until we get quick
-What's quick?
17 seconds is the target
With no seat insert you should be
doing it in around about 20 seconds
-With no seat insert
-And this was what, 24?
That was 30 Three, two, one, stop!
Sweetie! Get on over here!
-How are you In red?
-Good
-Where is Richard?
-I don't know Richard!
How are we? You are good?
Good to see you! How are you?
-Good, and you?
-Not too bad Not too bad
-I don't like your colours
-I got a by Richard Bradley
He got a flash You weren't the only one
A lot of people got flashed
-Non Stop
-I was laughing in the car
-Oh, Richard Bradley
-It's Tuesday man, calm it down
You know, it's quite easy to find out
which one's Sophia's car
That's the coolest thing about it
I wonder which one it is?
-It's the engine cover
-Could it be the one that says "Sophia"?
Bye bye
-He's the best
-He was your teammate last year?
We were, the three of us
We need to figure out how to get back
like last year, same setup, with Richard
-Man where is this guy?
-I miss that to be honest I miss that
That was just fun
That was just raw fun
-Yeah, exactly
-It was just good times
Yeah Pure pleasure and pro,
at the same time
-Yeah true True True True
-Yeah That was good fun, really
Anyway, let's see
if we can make it happen again
And you, Sophia?
How is the racing going?
And the life, and the love life?
I want to know everything
I'm single and not ready to mingle
Well, I'm ready to mingle
I'll wait for you
Tell us honestly why you're not racing
with us No, you shut up though!
-Shut up
Tell us the honest reason
why you're not racing with us
I was pissed when I saw you
on the entry list with Prema
I didn't expect you
to be against us this year
-No
-That's a shame
-Um, yeah
-Sorry, I need to go
-Someone needs to work
-My work is not done for today
-Anyway, it was good to see you, mate
-See you later
-Sophia
-Give my greetings to Patrick
It sucked I was really annoyed
But I understand
-That's how it is
-I know
If you were in my shoes,
you'd have done the same
-But you still live in Vienna? Salzburg?
-Yes
And you're in Munich?
I always know where you are, from Raya
-Me, too
-I have to delete it!
-But do you use it?
-No
-I think it's
-And I haven't met anyone
I was looking at it in my room
two days ago
and all I saw nearby was racing drivers!
What did you expect? Of course
Well, I wish you all the best
at the weekend
Hopefully see you on the track
On the podium What about Bent?
It's okay We're under the limit financially,
we don't have the budget
It's not so easy right now
But we'll see You never know in
a four hour race anything could happen
when a French guy and an Austrian
Yes, yes, yes! My favourite nonsense!
Usually the fastest driver
drives the qualifying
But I was already told last week
that they chose Bent for qualifying
We were very angry about it at first,
because even after the test days
it was clear that I'm faster
But in motorsport there is always
a higher power at work: Money
That's that Sure, I'm annoyed
When you're on TV, never say words
like "piss," "f*ck" and "bollocks"
because they can hear you
If you keep the pressure on
you just create heat
So they never graze They
When they get hot
-and just wear out quickly Right, listen
-I will write it all down, so don't worry
No, no This is what you do: As soon as
you start moving, you drag the brake
-I did already
-No, no 1000 degrees Right?
Because what it does is that this
just puts so much energy into the wheel
You'll never get them that hot
You'll never get them that hot
that they won't work
It's like for sake It's basics
Just too much in sector one
We're losing far too much
-What's the reason?
-He's not driving quick enough
he's not good enough yet
-Red flag For sake
-Why do we change tyres?
This is twice now
we've been last on the grid
We're not last, we have Raffa behind us
Yeah Great, so much better
It's okay, it goes on for four hours
Who cares where you are on the grid?
Sure, but I'm driving four stints, Dad
-Yes, and you can do it!
-Let go of me, please
It's okay
-Yeah, sorry! That was sh*t
-All good We have four hours
-My lap was really bad
-No, all good
4 hours is long
It's not like F2 All good
And you are done,
so don't worry, really All good
Hello everybody!
And a very warm welcome
to a brand new season of European
Le Mans Series Racing
Last time we did this
we ended on the podium
Yes! Exactly!
Safe race!
I think every athlete has rituals
that he does before a competition
I always put on my right glove
before my left one
I am a bit superstitious
But as soon as I have my helmet on,
I'm a different person anyway
And a brand new season for 2022 is go!
Julien Canal under pressure
from Sophia Flrsch
She had a good start,
can't grumble there, mate
Everybody stand by please Bent ready
We're preparing to do a stop:
Four tyres and driver
change to Bent, full fuel
APR are in That is Sophia Flrsch
Now 20 seconds
Car is 35 seconds away
Sophia Flrsch so far
has been the quicker of the two
But well matched, this 2 driver squad
Great move from Sophia Flrsch!
Okay, Sophia, we're going to box,
box, box, please
Away goes Ferdi Habsburg
We call him Ferdi
His real name is Ferdinand Zvonimir
Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto
Antal Bahnam Leonhard
von Habsburg Lothringen
-Well remembered
-You can't get that on the side of a car
because it's not long enough
So Ferdi it is
Back to racing though
And this is emerging at the moment
as a really good day for Algarve Pro Racing
If they win this race from here,
that's an amazing result
Stewart Cox loves a little bit of this!
You can probably mouth read him,
but I'm not gonna repeat it
-No
-Viscaal is in second!
Sophia Flrsch Bent Viscaal
The two silver drivers
Okay Bent, it's maximum push!
And the strategy has played
their way today!
Bent Viscaal brings it home for a famous
2nd place for Algarve Pro Racing overall!
-we finished on a podium!
-Bravo!
Well done, well done
My darling!
Second place going to Algarve Pro Racing
Sophia Flrsch and Bent Viscaal
Best results in the ELMS history
for a female driver overall, there
You know, Sophia! What a job!
And Bent!
You know, Bent, not driven P2 before,
I just don't know what to say!
I'm sort of speechless, but you want me
to say something, so I am
It's amazing! You know, that car there,
they've got more budget
than I could ever wish for
Ten seconds mate!
And you've got two million more!
Push it round the corner, good
-Want to hold it? Hold it up!
-I know what to do!
-You did well
-Yes
What would you say worked well
in the last race?
And what could have been better?
Something that worked well was
I was quite focused whilst driving
and I didn't let mistakes or anything
unexpected happening drive me crazy,
so to speak The only thing was
being able to blend it out
when pressure arises from things
not going well
For example, at Le Mans,
there are 24 hours
-when anything can and will happen
-will
It's more likely there,
because it's not just one round
So if something happens,
like a tyre blowout at 3 in the morning,
-Okay, yes
-in that moment, you have to stay calm
Again, it's about accepting things
The 24 hours of Le Mans
are the highlight of the year
Finishing on the podium there
means something I'll give it my all
Close your eyes
You know: I can control this
Every moment, focused, calm
This is exactly where I belong
With everything that is happening,
this is exactly where I belong
Le Mans is the biggest and most
prestigious endurance race in motorsport
Over 300,000 fans are due this weekend
It's the mother of all races
Everyone wants to win Le Mans
You become almost immortal in motorsport
I think for Sophia,
that's what we're hoping for
There's never been a woman that's
ever been on the Le Mans podium,
certainly not on the top step of it
Le Mans is always very special
We've been here six days
We came on Saturday
It feels like it's been stressful
since the first minute
But it's a positive stress,
because so many fans are already here
My whole family has come!
My dad, my little sister and my mum
are here to support me
This week in Le Mans
there are three of us in the car
I'm driving an LMP2 again
for the same team,
but this time in the Pro Am category
In Le Mans there's multiple classes
And LMP2 is split between
a Pro class and then there's a Pro Am
And the Pro Am class has one
amateur driver and two professionals
And that's the class that we're competing in
Le Mans is its own stand alone event
So for us, what we've decided to do
is partner with two other drivers
and that was,
you know, the way we were able to do it
So in our car, there's Jack Aitken
Jack's a driver who did a Formula 1 race
with Williams in the past
And John Falb,
and he's an American driver,
he's had a lot of success in sports cars
-There's 27 cars overall
-"John Falb, race driver"
and nine LMP2 Pro Am cars
So the competition is very high
and the attrition will be crazy
John, our bronze driver, the amateur,
he's one of the fastest bronzes,
which is a big plus,
-because in the end, it's the bronze driver
-"Jack Aitken, race driver"
that is making the difference,
because the gaps
between the different
bronze drivers is quite big,
and the gaps between all the pro drivers
like me and Sophia are quite small
In a 24 hour race you need luck
and everything has to work
But we should be able to compete
for a podium, if not a win
Welcome everyone,
to the Le Mans 24 Hours
The place to etch your name
in the history Books
of the most famous drivers in motorsport
Here we go, Le Mans 2022 is on
-It's two cars off
-Car 22, United, LMP2
Is everything okay, Sophia?
The Algarve Pro car of Sophia Flrsch
is off as well
Sophia, what is the issue?
No idea I just cannot shift
I cannot shift down, I cannot shift up
Hurry! Come on!
We've lost the gear box
It's in a gear
but it's saying zero on the dash
-Watch the engine temperature
-The oil is 100
-What?
-What is?
-Oil
-Water?
-Water is 102
-Don't let it go above 110
-Yes
Tell her to put it into manual
and then do shifts on the manual
-If the her actuator's sh*t itself
-She tried the manual already
Where is she on track?
Was she driving when she did that?
She's on before the first chicane
But you see the steering wheel
Everybody back! She's coming in
I don't know! The gearbox actuator's
new the gears are new
everything's new
On the grid, when it was sat there
with the engine running, how hot was it?
For me, it's cooked the actuator
Yes!
Plug that in!
Tell me when you're on, and I'll turn it
And it should be right
It's got zero on the dash
Put it into neutral Right, neutral
The engine's coming round
It's going 60 mile an hour
It's 110 degrees
It's a dead rubber race now
-What was it?
-Gearbox actuator
-And just
-Dead
And the actuator is just the
The thing that turns the barrel
It's annoying Six laps!
-It never shifted to second
-No
-Never shifted to neutral either
-No It just didn't do anything anymore
It's so frustrating
It's extremely depressing
Just extremely depressing
But maybe a miracle will happen
We're just going to keep pushing
for everything and
that's the way it goes!
It just means we are starting
really on the back foot
And we have to be perfect now
to get a result
Sophia Flrsch out there now picking up
speed for the Algarve Pro Racing team
after the disaster at the start
They are now five laps down, though
It's not looking great for the team
They're last in the LMP2 Pro Am class
But it's a long, long race
After a great stint, Sophia Flrsch
is coming down pit lane now
for the driver change to Jack Aitken
She's pulled the best she possibly
could out of the LMP2 car
Getting their sights set now
on the Vector Sport Oreca ahead
Let's see what Aitken can do
Might we just witness a miracle tonight?
As the sun rises on Sunday morning
at the Le Mans 24 hours,
we can have another look
at the overall order
and see that Sophia Flrsch,
Jack Aitken and John Falb
have been pushing very hard overnight,
moving up the table only three more spots
away from the LMP2 Pro Am podium
What more could be in store
after that disastrous start?
-Great, huh?
-You were flying Absolutely flying
The fairytale finish for Algarve Pro Racing
does not look like it's going to happen
Jack Aitken doing his very best,
he's just one slot away from the podium,
but a long gap in time between him
and Laurents Hrr in P3
It's a great comeback from
the Algarve Pro Racing team,
but it's a tale of what might have been
I'm sorry I'm so sorry
It was soul destroying We just put
a new part on the car that failed
The fight back was phenomenal
If we hadn't have lost the time
we did fixing the part
They could have quite easily
won the Pro Am race
And that's the sad part
Come here It's like your dad said:
You were magic
But you went five laps down
and finished three laps down
Can't win them all
Trust me, I've lost more
The thing with motor racing
is it's a very lonely sport
When you come out of the car,
press might come and talk to you,
but afterwards you're on your own,
trying to make peace with yourself
It's been hard for her
We needed to provide a platform for Sophia
to illustrate that she was able to compete
at the very top of motorsport
That was the goal from the get go
We were getting help from
various people and companies
to try and make that happen
but we're now in a situation
where there are two races to go
and at the minute the resources
aren't there to do it
We have a contract with Sophia
to drive the car
And for them to do that,
they need to bring funding
And they basically
have run out of funding,
because certain backers to them haven't
been as forthcoming as they would
Obviously, it's a legally binding contract,
but we're not
You know, we want to find a way
to not affect Sophia,
because we do believe in her as a driver
And by hammering someone to the wall
you know you're not really going
to help them much
So, with help from Chris,
we found someone
who'll take her place
Which is a big shame
We're very, very sad, because I'd really
like to see her complete the season
But it's just not possible
Sophia needs to find sponsors
And if she was a Le Mans winner,
yes, it would have been a lot easier
When it comes
to social media partnerships,
the challenge for me is being
a woman in a man's world
Motorsport fans are largely men,
so my followers are mostly men, too
89% of my Instagram followers are men
So the products that I could promote
as a woman, don't work for me
Here's the race winner: Prema Racing
-Good run for them again
-Yeah, indeed
Wow! What a race!
Your third victory this year in the ELMS
Yeah, I mean, I can't say too much,
because we all did it together
It was so cool! Yeah
We're going to have a couple of beers,
have a good night,
and celebrate that one
-Do you want to grab some time, Stewart?
-Yeah
-Now is okay for you guys?
-Yeah
The objective to be here
was so that we can elevate Sophia's profile
and show her ability
But Sophia showed when
she has the right equipment
and the right stuff in the right moment
that she's faster than anyone else
And you cannot
The absolute crux of the matter are is:
You're not rich enough to come
and write out the 3 million pound
check a year to make it happen
Which is what all the rest are
Look at the others!
You know, there's 20 drivers
with dads who are billionaires
who are actually pulling their hair out
because Sophia on peanuts
is beating them
You can't pay the hundreds and hundreds
of thousands that's necessary
-Millions!
-Yeah, but for a test day
We're talking for a test day
Go there with 20 sets of tyres
You know
There you go! Bang!
50 grand just for tyres
You know, it's nuts! It's nuts!
But the facts are there
Sophia's a bloody good racer
and she's shown that
You just need someone to say:
You know what?
That's a bloody good idea!
Which is where the business is
It's a rich gentleman driver
who wants to go
and see if he can compete with
the youngsters and he'll pay for the car
But I think there's also a problem
that Sophia is a girl
Because if you race with a bronze Driver
and the bronze driver has to explain
that the girl is faster than he in the car
But you need a bronze,
you need a silver
But, you know, this is the mentality
of bronze drivers with a lot of money
No! That's not true!
They'll take the fastest driver
They don't care what they are
It's irrelevant You know
I can say something
Stewart can say something
Alex can say: We think this
But it's not us driving the car
It's not my life It's your life
It's just tough, tough, tough
And we'll do what we can to try
and help you with it Right?
-Yeah
-Life's pretty short, right?
You don't want to spend
your whole time being
feeling like it's not quite right
I wanted to give you a hug
Thank you very much
See you in Spa? Yeah?
No? Why not?
-Thank you very much
-No problem
See you! Stay safe! Bye, bye
-Bye!
-See you! I'm not going to be in Spa
You're not going to be in Spa?
I just heard, you're not doing Spa
No, sadly not
-"February 2023"
-I'm really really happy
to announce that Sophia Flrsch
will join our program
And we are really really proud that
she will be part of our Formula 1 Academy
Guys, I can finally announce now
that from now on I'm actually
a part of the Alpine Academy
which means I am working directly
with the F1 team
I'm happy! Happy self is back
See you!
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#RACEGIRL - The Comeback of Sophia Florsch (2023)
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