Female F3 driver slams W Series

Formula 3 driver Sophia Florsch has hit out at the new female-only open wheel category called W Series.

Last year, 18-year-old German Florsch came to international attention thanks to her spectacular airborne crash during the fabled Macau grand prix.

But she is vowing to return to Macau later this year, dismissing the lure of the female-only category that has been championed by David Coulthard.

"It’s a marketing thing and, in my eyes, it’s not the way to help women in motor sport," Florsch told the Rheinische Post newspaper when asked about W Series.

"For me, racing in the W Series would be a step back on a sporting level.

"I want to compete with the best in my sport, and the best drivers are men, so I want to race among the men. Only then can I get myself in the spotlight for a better category.

"I don’t want to be a marketing number," she insisted.