Clément Novalak

Clément Novalak (French pronunciation: [kle.mɑ̃ nɔ.va.lak]: born 23 December 2000) is a French-Swiss racing driver currently racing for Trident in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship, having previously drove for MP Motorsport. He won his first race in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship in 2023 Zandvoort Formula 2 round. He previously raced in the FIA Formula Three Championship for Carlin and Trident and won the 2019 British F3 Championship with Carlin.

Clément Novalak
Novalak in 2022
NationalityFrance French
Born (2000-12-23) 23 December 2000
Avignon, France
FIA Formula 2 Championship career
Debut season2021
Current teamTrident
Car number21
Former teamsMP Motorsport
Starts46 (46 entries)
Wins1
Podiums1
Poles0
Fastest laps1
Best finish14th in 2022
Previous series
20202021
20182019
2018
2018
2018
FIA Formula 3
BRDC British F3 Championship
Formula Renault NEC
Formula Renault Eurocup
Toyota Racing Series
Championship titles
2019BRDC British F3 Championship

Career

Karting

Novalak started karting in France when he was 10 years old. He won a couple of championships, his first of which was in 2015 at the WSK Super Master Series. He competed all around Europe including France, Sweden, Italy and the UK. In 2014, Novalak received backing from former karting champion and Hitech Grand Prix founder Oliver Oakes.[1]

Toyota Racing Series

In 2018, Novalak made his single-seater debut in the championship with Giles Motorsport.[2] Claiming two wins at Teretonga and Hampton Downs saw him end the season fifth and as top rookie.[3][4]

Formula Renault Eurocup

Novalak racing in the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup

Following his performance in the Toyota Racing Series, Novalak was signed to Josef Kaufmann Racing for the 2018 season.[5]

British Formula 3

Novalak's first season in British F3 was in 2018 with Carlin. The first race of the season he took pole at Oulton Park, however he would retire from the race. Novalak competed in 4 of the 8 rounds in that season with the best finish being 4th, he finished the season in 18th with 120 points, only two points behind the swede Arvin Esmaeili who had a full-time drive.

In 2019 Novalak got a full-time drive with Carlin. He got two poles and two wins, in the second race of the final round of the season himself and championship rival Johnathan Hoggard collided meaning they both finished at the bottom end of the points. Hoggard finished 15th whereas Novalak finished 12th which gave him 4 points, enough to win him the title despite Hoggard winning the final race.

2020

Following his British F3 title win, Novalak joined Carlin for the second and third days of the post-season test at Valencia.[6][7] In February 2020, Novalak was named as part of Carlin's lineup for the 2020 season,[8] which includes him, Cameron Das and Enaam Ahmed. He scored his first podium in Austria.

2021

Novalak driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2021 Spielberg Formula 3 round

In the post-season test at Catalunya, Novalak joined the Trident outfit and set the fastest time of the second day's morning session.[9][10] He ended up signing with the team for the 2021 season, driving alongside Jack Doohan and David Schumacher.[11] At the first round in Barcelona, Novalak scored his first podium of the year in Sprint Race 1, finishing second, and would add to his points tally in the remaining two races of the weekend.[12] More points came in all three races at his home circuit, Le Castellet, despite which Novalak commented that consistency was "not good enough" for a title battle.[13] Bad luck befell him in the third event at the Red Bull Ring, where the Frenchman collided with Matteo Nannini whilst battling for the lead in the closing stages of the first sprint race.[14] Another crash, this time caused by Arthur Leclerc, forced Novalak out of the feature race, meaning that he wouldn't score points that round.[15]

At the next two rounds in Budapest and Spa, Novalak scored points in all six races, even managing to set the fastest lap in Sprint Race 2 in the latter event.[16] This would be followed up by a double podium at Zandvoort, with Novalak profiting from a collision between his teammate Schumacher and Victor Martins to take second on Sunday.[17][18] At the season finale in Sochi, Novalak was embroiled in a battle for the lead with teammate Doohan, as the Australian ignored his team's instructions to let Novalak past, which meant that Doohan won the race, whilst Novalak had to settle for third, having been overtaken by Frederik Vesti near the end of the race.[19] Despite this, Novalak, who ended up third in the drivers' championship, had helped Trident to take the teams' title.[20]

2021

During November 2021, MP Motorsport announced that Novalak would replace Lirim Zendeli for the final 2 races of the 2021 season and contest the full season with them in 2022.[21] His best finish ended up being 14th, which he achieved in three separate races.

2022

Novalak driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round.

For the 2022 season, Novalak would be partnered by Felipe Drugovich. The Frenchman started his season out slowly, having to wait until the round at Imola for his first points in the category.[22] More points would follow in Barcelona, where Novalak took fifth place in the feature race, although this would be his final top-ten finish for the subsequent four rounds. After the summer break, Novalak scored his only podium of the year, finishing second in the sprint race at Zandvoort.[23] He ended his season 14th in the drivers' standings, helping MP to win the teams' title.[24]

2023

Novalak driving for Trident during the 2023 Spielberg Formula 2 round.

Shortly before the 2022 post-season test, Novalak was announced to be reuniting with Trident for the 2023 season. Partnering him would be Czech rookie Roman Staněk.[25]

The opening three rounds yielded little success, as Novalak continued to struggle in qualifying, leaving him with a best finish of eleventh at Melbourne.[26] Chaos near the end of the Baku sprint race enabled the Frenchman to score his first points, which he described as a relief, whilst also stating that it had been "a weekend of what could have been" due to his starting spot of 19th.[27] Top ten finishes eluded Novalak during the subsequent rounds, although the round in Austria brought a highlight: despite qualifying in 20th, a decision to start on dry tyres benefited Novalak, who was able to gain a heap of positions on a drying track, leading him on to finish third.[28] However, post-race inspections found that the car's rear tyre pressures were below the legal limit, forcing the race officials to disqualify Novalak.[29][30]

Three further events without points followed, including a mistake at Budapest, where Novalak lost control under breaking during Saturday's sprint race and collided into Ralph Boschung, earning himself a five-place grid penalty.[31] In Zandvoort, Novalak ended up with a starting spot of 13th after bringing the qualifying session to an early end, having hit the barrier on the exit of turn three.[32] On Sunday, the seas parted for the French driver, who found himself in the lead, having stopped shortly before a safety car intervention. He would hold off Zane Maloney for the remainder of the contest, creating a gap before taking his maiden win in Formula 2.[33][34]

Formula One

In 2017, Novalak partook in an assessment with the Ferrari Driver Academy.[2]

Personal life

Novalak was born in the French city of Avignon to a French father and Swiss mother. He moved to Montreux in Switzerland as a child and again to Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom in his teens. He claimed in a 2020 interview that, similar to Bertrand Gachot, "...I would probably consider myself European nowadays."[35] In 2021, he raced under a French license as he stated that his "origins are French" and despite him "[not having] lived there a lot [he] was born there and each time [he] took a train or a plane in France, [he felt] at home."[36]

Novalak's father, who had introduced him to motorsport, died in 2017, as a result of which the Frenchman added his father's birthday to his helmet in Roman numerals.[37]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2011 Championnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime 13th
Bridgestone Cup — Minime 23rd
French Championship — Minime 64th
2012 Trophée Oscar Petit — Minime 2nd
Championnat Regional PACAC — Minime 10th
Championnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime 5th
Bridgestone Cup — Minime 9th
Trophée Kart Mag — Minime 1st
French Championship — Minime 9th
Regional Series — Minime 7th
2013 Rotax Winter Cup — Rotax Junior 30th
Trophée Oscar Petit — Nationale 10th
Rotax Euro Challenge — Rotax Junior 62nd
Challenge Rotax Max France — Cadet 14th
Coupe de France — Cadet 8th
2014 South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ Kosmic Racing Departement 16th
WSK Champions CupKFJ 44th
WSK Super Master SeriesKFJ 33rd
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipKFJ 39th
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipKFJ 33rd
WSK Final CupKFJ 29th
2015 WSK Champions CupKFJ Tony Kart Racing Team 8th
South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ 5th
WSK Super Master SeriesKFJ 1st
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipKFJ 5th
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipKFJ 2nd
WSK Final CupKFJ 33rd
SKUSA SuperNationals — Junior Team Koene USA 40th
2016 WSK Champions CupOK Tony Kart Racing Team 31st
South Garda Winter Cup — OK 26th
WSK Super Master SeriesOK 6th
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOK 8th
German Karting ChampionshipOK 4th
WSK Final CupOK 6th
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipOK 15th
Kartmasters Grand Prix — OK 2nd
2017 WSK Champions CupOK Tony Kart Racing Team 4th
South Garda Winter Cup — OK 7th
WSK Super Master SeriesOK 1st
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOK 12th
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipOK 20th
Swedish Karting ChampionshipOK Ward Racing 3rd

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2018 Formula Renault Eurocup Josef Kaufmann Racing 17 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
Formula Renault NEC 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Carlin 11 0 1 0 0 120 18th
Toyota Racing Series Giles Motorsport 15 2 1 3 4 711 5th
2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Carlin 24 2 2 1 8 505 1st
2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship Carlin Buzz Racing 18 0 0 2 2 45 12th
2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship Trident 20 0 0 2 4 147 3rd
FIA Formula 2 Championship MP Motorsport 6 0 0 0 0 0 28th
2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship MP Motorsport 28 0 0 1 1 40 14th
2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 22 1 0 2 1 28* 17th*

As Novalak was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Toyota Racing Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2018 Giles Motorsport RUA
1

4
RUA
2

10
RUA
3

6
TER
1

4
TER
2

5
TER
3

1
HMP
1

5
HMP
2

1
HMP
3

9
TAU
1

10
TAU
2

10
TAU
3

Ret
MAN
1

3
MAN
2

2
MAN
3

6
5th 711

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points
2018 Josef Kaufmann Racing LEC
1

15
LEC
2

Ret
MNZ
1

16
MNZ
2

Ret
SIL
1

12
SIL
2

Ret
MON
1

25
MON
2

22
RBR
1

Ret
RBR
2

DNS
SPA
1
SPA
2
HUN
1

18
HUN
2

22
NÜR
1

14
NÜR
2

16
HOC
1

11
HOC
2

22
CAT
1

Ret
CAT
2

13
23rd 0

Complete Formula Renault Northern European Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points
2018 Josef Kaufmann Racing PAU
1
PAU
2
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
SPA
1
SPA
2
HUN
1

18
HUN
2

22
NÜR
1

14
NÜR
2

16
HOC
1

11
HOC
2

22
NC† 0

As Novalak was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Points
2018 Carlin OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

710
OUL
3

4
ROC
1

Ret
ROC
2

96
ROC
3

DSQ
SNE
1
SNE
2
SNE
3
SIL
1

4
SIL
2

113
SIL
3

6
SPA
1
SPA
2
SPA
3
BRH
1
BRH
2
BRH
3
DON
1
DON
2
DON
3
SIL
1

13
SIL
2

4
SIL
3

C
18th 120
2019 Carlin OUL
1

1
OUL
2

67
OUL
3

2
SNE
1

2
SNE
2

69
SNE
3

2
SIL1
1

1
SIL1
2

99
SIL1
3

6
DON1
1

4
DON1
2

47
DON1
3

4
SPA
1

4
SPA
2

105
SPA
3

2
BRH
1

3
BRH
2

95
BRH
3

4
SIL2
1

7
SIL2
2

36
SIL2
3

4
DON2
1

4
DON2
2

12
DON2
3

6
1st 505

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position points; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2020 Carlin Buzz Racing RBR
FEA

10
RBR
SPR

3
RBR
FEA

29
RBR
SPR

25
HUN
FEA

9
HUN
SPR

12
SIL
FEA

8
SIL
SPR

2
SIL
FEA

12
SIL
SPR

9
CAT
FEA

4
CAT
SPR

11
SPA
FEA

NC
SPA
SPR

15
MNZ
FEA

13
MNZ
SPR

Ret
MUG
FEA

24
MUG
SPR

14
12th 45
2021 Trident CAT
1

2
CAT
2

4
CAT
3

6
LEC
1

5
LEC
2

6
LEC
3

5
RBR
1

Ret
RBR
2

13
RBR
3

Ret
HUN
1

4
HUN
2

8
HUN
3

5
SPA
1

7
SPA
2

5
SPA
3

5
ZAN
1

11
ZAN
2

2
ZAN
3

2
SOC
1

4
SOC
2

C
SOC
3

3
3rd 147

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points
2021 MP Motorsport BHR
SP1
BHR
SP2
BHR
FEA
MCO
SP1
MCO
SP2
MCO
FEA
BAK
SP1
BAK
SP2
BAK
FEA
SIL
SP1
SIL
SP2
SIL
FEA
MNZ
SP1
MNZ
SP2
MNZ
FEA
SOC
SP1
SOC
SP2
SOC
FEA
JED
SP1

14
JED
SP2

Ret
JED
FEA

19
YMC
SP1

17
YMC
SP2

14
YMC
FEA

14
28th 0
2022 MP Motorsport BHR
SPR

18
BHR
FEA

Ret
JED
SPR

11
JED
FEA

14
IMO
SPR

19
IMO
FEA

4
CAT
SPR

14
CAT
FEA

5
MCO
SPR

Ret
MCO
FEA

Ret
BAK
SPR

14
BAK
FEA

Ret
SIL
SPR

13
SIL
FEA

13
RBR
SPR

15
RBR
FEA

17
LEC
SPR

17
LEC
FEA

8
HUN
SPR

20
HUN
FEA

12
SPA
SPR

17
SPA
FEA

9
ZAN
SPR

2
ZAN
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

Ret
MNZ
FEA

8
YMC
SPR

14
YMC
FEA

12
14th 40
2023 Trident BHR
SPR

16
BHR
FEA

13
JED
SPR

15
JED
FEA

16
MEL
SPR

11
MEL
FEA

11
BAK
SPR

7
BAK
FEA

16
MCO
SPR

17
MCO
FEA

17
CAT
SPR

11
CAT
FEA

21
RBR
SPR

DSQ
RBR
FEA

13
SIL
SPR

17
SIL
FEA

12
HUN
SPR

Ret
HUN
FEA

Ret
SPA
SPR

17
SPA
FEA

13
ZAN
SPR

8
ZAN
FEA

1
MNZ
SPR

10
MNZ
FEA

Ret
YMC
SPR
YMC
FEA
17th* 28*

* Season still in progress.

References

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  2. Allen, Peter (October 17, 2017). "Karter Clement Novalak to contest 2018 Toyota Racing Series". FormulaScout. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  3. Carrell, Benjamin (January 24, 2018). "Former world kart champion Clement Novalak shapes as Toyota Racing Series threat". Stuff. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  4. Budge, Dale (January 28, 2018). "Motorsport: Clement Novalak continues Toyota Racing Series surge". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  5. Wood, Elliot (February 21, 2018). "Clement Novalak to contest both Formula Renault Eurocup and British F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  6. "Post-season testing Day 2 Entry List". October 20, 2019. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  7. "Post-season testing Day 3 entry list". October 21, 2019. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. "Novalak, Ahmed and Das join Carlin Buzz Racing for 2020". February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
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  12. "2021 Round 1 post-Race 1 press conference". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  13. "Frustrated Novalak believes he 'picked moves at the wrong places,' as he bemoans missed opportunities in Round 2". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
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  15. "RACE 3: Vesti clinches dominant first win for ART Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  16. "'Hopefully we've destabilized PREMA' – Novalak says Trident have gained momentum in the Teams' title fight". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  17. "Novalak's Guest Column: Zandvoort is one of the most spectacular racetracks I've driven on". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
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  19. "2021 Round 7 post-Race 3 press conference". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  20. "RACE 3: Trident clinch the Teams' title as Doohan wins in Sochi". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  21. "MP Motorsport announce Novalak for final two rounds of 2021 and full 2022 season". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  22. "Novalak says first F2 points will bring 'a lot of confidence' going forward". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  23. "2022 Round 12 post-Sprint Race press conference". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  24. "Dorsman credits Drugovich and MP Motorsport's maturity for F2 Championship double". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  25. "Clément Novalak reunites with Trident for 2023 F2 season". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  26. MotorSport, Trident. "FIA F2 Championship, Melbourne, Feature Race Report". Trident Motorsport (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  27. "Baku City Circuit | FIA Formula 2 Round 4 | Clément Novalak". Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  28. "Red Bull Ring | FIA Formula 2 Round 8 | Clément Novalak". Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  29. "Novalak disqualified and three drivers penalised following Spielberg Sprint Race". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  30. "Novalak: 'We can build on Spielberg performance' as Trident searches for consistency". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  31. "Novalak handed grid penalty for Budapest Feature Race". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  32. "QUALIFYING: Crawford makes it count for maiden pole in dramatic Zandvoort session". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  33. "FEATURE RACE: Novalak wins drama-filled Zandvoort race as Championship contenders hit trouble". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
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