The Formula E championship is ready to enter a faster era, with a new manufacturer ready to join the grid. Opel, a brand with 125 years of racing history, has officially announced its entry into the series, signing Sophia Flörsch to lead the charge into the GEN4 era.
Opel’s choice to spotlight young talents
Opel has chosen Flörsch to be the team’s Test and Development Driver in an effort to strengthen the visibility of a new generation in motorsport. The German driver will make her official debut at the presentation of Opel’s GEN4 car on April 21-22 at Le Castellet, where she will be among the first to put the Stellantis-developed GEN4 chassis to the test on track.
With Sophia’s signing, we at Opel are sending a clear signal for the consistent promotion of young talents in electric motorsport. Her precise technical feedback as well as her analytical way of working in the simulator and on the track will play an essential role in the further development of our GEN4 package.
Jörg Schrott, Team Principal
Flörsch has raced in ADAC Formula 4, Formula 3 and the Formula Regional European Championship, and is the first woman to score points and podiums in both German Formula 4 and Formula 3. She then moved to endurance racing, taking part in ELMS, WEC and DTM. Her input as a simulator and test driver will be highly valuable for further development and refinement of Opel’s 2027 challenger.
The GEN4 revolution
Unveiled last year, the GEN4 Formula E cars will hit the track in Season 13 of the championship, marking a transformation in performance so radical that it’s described as a “quantum leap”. The most striking shift from the GEN3 Evo is the leap in raw power, and the movement from the current 350 kW output to a staggering 600 kW (approximately 815 horsepower) at full push, and 450 kW during races (about 600 horsepower). Season 12 has been full of surprises so far, and the new cars aim to increase the series’ unpredictability.
The new cars will feature All-Wheel Drive (AWD), which will be active for the whole race, providing unprecedented traction. This power is balanced by an equally impressive leap in sustainability and efficiency. The regenerative braking capacity has climbed to 700 kW, meaning cars will recover nearly half the energy used during a race. With a bodywork design focused on active aerodynamics to reduce drag on straights and increase downforce in corners, the GEN4 will test the absolute limits of racecraft and battery management while simultaneously reinforcing sustainability.
An all German partnership for Opel
The partnership between Sophia Flörsch and Opel is a symbolic homecoming for German motorsport. By uniting one of Germany’s most iconic automotive brands with a young female racing talent, the project taps into a legacy of excellence rooted in cultural belonging. Opel, a brand that helped pioneer mass mobility in Germany, now finds its modern GSE identity reflected in Flörsch’s fresh approach, positioning her at the center of their OMG! GSE campaign.
As a German driver, being part of this factory team is more than a privilege for me. Together, we want to show what true teamwork can do – achieve sporting success and win the hearts of motorsport fans for Opel and Formula E.
Sophia Flörsch
As Flörsch takes the GEN4 car onto the track, she carries with her the expectations of a brand eager to prove that the future of high-performance racing is electric.
Image credit: Stellantis
Edited by Reo Lane.
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