# Clément Novalak

Clément Novalak (French pronunciation:; born 23 December 2000) is a French racing driver of Swiss descent, who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series for TDS Racing. He previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2022 and 2023 for MP Motorsport and Trident, respectively and in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Carlin and Trident, whom he finished third in the standings with in 2021, and won the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin in 2019.

## Junior racing 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.

### Toyota Racing Series

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

### Formula Renault Eurocup

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

### 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
#### 2020

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

#### 2021

In the post-season test at Catalunya, Novalak joined the Trident outfit and set the fastest time of the second day's morning session. He ended up signing with the team for the 2021 season, driving alongside Jack Doohan and David Schumacher. 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. 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. 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. Another crash, this time caused by Arthur Leclerc, forced Novalak out of the feature race, meaning that he wouldn't score points that round.
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. 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. 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. Despite this, Novalak, who ended up third in the drivers' championship, had helped Trident to take the teams' title.

### FIA Formula 2 Championship
#### 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. His best finish ended up being 14th, which he achieved in three separate races.

#### 2022

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. 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. He ended his season 14th in the drivers' standings, helping MP to win the teams' title.

#### 2023

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.
The opening three rounds yielded little success, as Novalak continued to struggle in qualifying, leaving him with a best finish of eleventh at Melbourne. 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. 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. However, post-race inspections found that the car's rear tyre pressures were below the legal limit, forcing the race officials to disqualify Novalak.
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. 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. 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.
Novalak left Trident prior to the season finale at Yas Marina and was replaced by Formula 3 graduate Paul Aron.

### Formula One

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

## Endurance racing career

In November 2023, Novalak participated in the WEC rookie test at the Bahrain International Circuit, testing an LMP2 car with Inter Europol Competition.

### 2024

The following month, he was announced to be contesting the full European Le Mans Series season with the team for 2024, as well as making his endurance racing debut for Inter Europol at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2024.

## 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." 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."
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.

## Karting record
### Karting career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Position |
| 2011 | Championnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime | | 13th |
| 2011 | Bridgestone Cup — Minime | | 23rd |
| 2011 | French Championship — Minime | | 64th |
| 2012 | Trophée Oscar Petit — Minime | | 2nd |
| 2012 | Championnat Regional PACAC — Minime | | 10th |
| 2012 | Championnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime | | 5th |
| 2012 | Bridgestone Cup — Minime | | 9th |
| 2012 | Trophée Kart Mag — Minime | | 1st |
| 2012 | French Championship — Minime | | 9th |
| 2012 | Regional Series — Minime | | 7th |
| 2013 | Rotax Winter Cup — Rotax Junior | | 30th |
| 2013 | Trophée Oscar Petit — Nationale | | 10th |
| 2013 | Rotax Euro Challenge — Rotax Junior | | 62nd |
| 2013 | Challenge Rotax Max France — Cadet | | 14th |
| 2013 | Coupe de France — Cadet | | 8th |
| 2014 | South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 16th |
| 2014 | WSK Champions Cup — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 44th |
| 2014 | WSK Super Master Series — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 33rd |
| 2014 | CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 39th |
| 2014 | CIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 33rd |
| 2014 | WSK Final Cup — KFJ | Kosmic Racing Departement | 29th |
| 2015 | WSK Champions Cup — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 8th |
| 2015 | South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 5th |
| 2015 | WSK Super Master Series — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 1st |
| 2015 | CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 5th |
| 2015 | CIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 2nd |
| 2015 | WSK Final Cup — KFJ | Tony Kart Racing Team | 33rd |
| 2015 | SKUSA SuperNationals — Junior | Team Koene USA | 40th |
| 2016 | WSK Champions Cup — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 31st |
| 2016 | South Garda Winter Cup — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 26th |
| 2016 | WSK Super Master Series — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 6th |
| 2016 | CIK-FIA European Championship — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 8th |
| 2016 | German Karting Championship — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 4th |
| 2016 | WSK Final Cup — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 6th |
| 2016 | CIK-FIA World Championship — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 15th |
| 2016 | Kartmasters Grand Prix — OK | | 2nd |
| 2017 | WSK Champions Cup — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 4th |
| 2017 | South Garda Winter Cup — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 7th |
| 2017 | WSK Super Master Series — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 1st |
| 2017 | CIK-FIA European Championship — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 12th |
| 2017 | CIK-FIA World Championship — OK | Tony Kart Racing Team | 20th |
| 2017 | Swedish Karting Championship — OK | 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 |
| 2018 | Formula Renault NEC | Josef Kaufmann Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2018 | BRDC British Formula 3 Championship | Carlin | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 18th |
| 2018 | 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 |
| 2021 | 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 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 17th |
| 2024 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | Inter Europol Competition | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 7th |
| 2024 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | Inter Europol Competition | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2nd |
$^†$ 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 7$^{10}$ | OUL 3 4 | ROC 1 Ret | ROC 2 9$^6$ | ROC 3 DSQ | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | SIL 1 4 | SIL 2 11$^3$ | 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 6$^7$ | OUL 3 2 | SNE 1 2 | SNE 2 6$^9$ | SNE 3 2 | SIL1 1 1 | SIL1 2 9$^9$ | SIL1 3 6 | DON1 1 4 | DON1 2 4$^7$ | DON1 3 4 | SPA 1 4 | SPA 2 10$^5$ | SPA 3 2 | BRH 1 3 | BRH 2 9$^5$ | BRH 3 4 | SIL2 1 7 | SIL2 2 3$^6$ | 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 |

### Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Rank | Points |
| 2024 | Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | DAY WD | SEB | WGL | MOS | ELK | IMS | PET | NC | 0 |

### Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
| 2024 | Inter Europol Competition | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 8 | LEC Ret | IMO 7 | SPA 4 | MUG 3 | ALG 5 | 7th | 47 |

### Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
| 2024 | Inter Europol Competition | Vladislav Lomko Jakub Śmiechowski | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 297 | 16th | 2nd |