Clément Novalak

Clément Novalak (born 23 December 2000) is a French-Swiss racing driver currently competing in Formula Three for Carlin under the British flag.

Clément Novalak
Nationality	British
Born	23 December 2000 Avignon, France
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season	2020
Current team	Carlin Buzz Racing
Car number	26
Starts	18 (18 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Poles	0
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	12th in 2020
Previous series
2018–19 2018 2018	BRDC British F3 Championship Formula Renault Eurocup Toyota Racing Series
Championship titles
2019	BRDC 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

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.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

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.

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]

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."[11]

Racing record

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			2	2	45	12th

^* Season still in progress.

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

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	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

References

1. "CLEMENT NOVALAK, RISING STAR". May 18, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
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.
9. "FIA Formula 3 returns to action for Barcelona post-season test". October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
10. "Novalak ends Barcelona post-season testing on top, ahead of Doohan in Trident one-two". October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
11. "Why does Novalak, a French-Swiss racer, drive under a British Licence?". FIA Formula 3 Championship. 2 April 2020.

External links

• Clément Novalak career summary at DriverDB.com