# Théophile Naël

Théophile Naël (born 27 June 2007) is a French racing driver who is set to compete with Van Amersfoort Racing in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship. He is also the 2023 F4 Spanish champion.

## Career
### Karting

Naël was a successful karter in his national category, taking the crown in the 2018 French Championship, National Series Karting and in the 2020 IAME Series.

### Formula 4
#### 2022

Naël made his single-seater debut during the fourth round of the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship with Saintéloc Racing at Spa-Francorchamps, around a week after he had turned 15. Having achieved four points finishes with a high of eighth place, Naël ended 19th in the standings with 11 points.

#### 2023

During 2023 pre-season, Naël was announced to drive in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship with Saintéloc Racing. With multiple points finishes across the season, Naël placed 11th in the standings.
His full-time campaign would lie in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship, as he continued to drive for Saintéloc Racing. His first podium came only in the second race in Spa-Francorchamps, before taking his maiden car racing win the next round in Aragón. Naël then put on a dominant display over the next three rounds, winning the next six of nine races, propelling himself to the top of the standings. Another win the next round in Circuit Ricardo Tormo put him at the brink of the title. Despite a complete sweep by rival Christian Ho during the season finale in Barcelona, Naël's massive points lead allowed him to seal the title during the first race. He described his title win as "unbelievable" as he won against long-standing rivals Campos Racing and MP Motorsport. He achieved eight wins, five poles and fourteen podiums whilst harnessing 314 points, 23 ahead of rival Ho.

### Formula Regional
#### 2024

Naël stepped up to the Formula Regional European Championship for 2024, continuing his relationship with Saintéloc Racing. Before that, he competed in the pre-season Formula Regional Middle East Championship with the team. He took his first Formula Regional win during the second round at Yas Marina and a further podium. Ending the season with a third place, Naël was 11th in the standings.
In his main campaign, Naël had a sluggish first half of the season with only three points finishes. However, his breakthrough came at the Red Bull Ring where he won the second race from third on the grid. He ended the season strongly with two fourth places in Monza, in which he even took his first pole in the final race. Naël ended his first FRECA campaign ninth in the standings with 81 points. He also partook in the Macau Grand Prix with Saintéloc. He finished 14th in the main race, but was later disqualified as his team crew had illegally started the car again when his car had stalled.

#### 2025

Naël will return to Formula Regional during the winter, contesting the first two rounds of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Saintéloc Racing.

### FIA Formula 3 Championship

In October 2024, Naël participated in the first round of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing at Jerez, with Van Amersfoort Racing.
On November 28, 2024 Naël was confirmed as part of Van Amersfoort Racing's lineup for the 2025 season.

## Karting record
### Karting career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Position |
| 2017 | Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Micro Max | Laurent Nael | 34th |
| 2018 | Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Mini Max | Nuvolini Stephen | 21st |
| 2018 | French Championship — Cadet | | 1st |
| 2018 | National Series Karting — Cadet | | 1st |
| 2019 | CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ | | |
| 2020 | IAME Series France — X30 Junior | 2N Racing | 1st |
| 2020 | IAME Euro Series — X30 Junior | | 3rd |
| 2020 | IAME International Games — X30 Junior | 2N Racing | 51st |
| 2021 | IAME Warriors Final — X30 Junior | | 3rd |
| Source: ||||

## Racing record
### Racing career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 2022 | F4 Spanish Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 19th |
| 2023 | Formula 4 UAE Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 11th |
| 2023 | F4 Spanish Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 21 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 314 | 1st |
| 2024 | Formula Regional Middle East Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 11th |
| 2024 | Formula Regional European Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 9th |
| 2024 | Macau Grand Prix | Saintéloc Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DSQ |
| 2025 | Formula Regional Middle East Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 125 | 7th |
| 2025 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Van Amersfoort Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19* | 2nd* |
* Season still in progress.

### Complete F4 Spanish 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 | DC | Points |
| 2022 | Saintéloc Racing | ALG 1 | ALG 2 | ALG 3 | JER 1 | JER 2 | JER 3 | CRT 1 | CRT 2 | CRT 3 | SPA 1 24 | SPA 2 12 | SPA 3 Ret | ARA 1 8 | ARA 2 23 | ARA 3 21† | NAV 1 11 | NAV 2 10 | NAV 3 8 | CAT 1 15 | CAT 2 11 | CAT 3 9 | 19th | 11 |
| 2023 | Saintéloc Racing | SPA 1 7 | SPA 2 3 | SPA 3 6 | ARA 1 5 | ARA 2 3 | ARA 3 1 | NAV 1 1 | NAV 2 1 | NAV 3 3 | JER 1 1 | JER 2 4 | JER 3 1 | EST 1 1 | EST 2 1 | EST 3 Ret | CRT 1 2 | CRT 2 1 | CRT 3 19 | CAT 1 3 | CAT 2 18 | CAT 3 2 | 1st | 314 |

### Complete Formula 4 UAE 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 | DC | Points |
| 2023 | Saintéloc Racing | DUB1 1 7 | DUB1 2 Ret | DUB1 3 7 | KMT1 1 4 | KMT1 2 15 | KMT1 3 8 | KMT2 1 10 | KMT2 2 9 | KMT2 3 32 | DUB2 1 26 | DUB2 2 28 | DUB2 3 6 | YMC 1 28† | YMC 2 9 | YMC 3 6 | 11th | 49 |

### Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | DC | Points |
| 2024 | Saintéloc Racing | YMC1 1 13 | YMC1 2 10 | YMC1 3 6 | YMC2 1 8 | YMC2 2 1 | YMC2 3 2 | DUB1 1 10 | DUB1 2 Ret | DUB1 3 10 | YMC3 1 Ret | YMC3 2 Ret | YMC3 3 12 | DUB2 1 Ret | DUB2 2 9 | DUB2 3 3 | 11th | 75 |
| 2025 | Saintéloc Racing | YMC1 1 8 | YMC1 2 2 | YMC1 3 4 | YMC2 1 9 | YMC2 2 2 | YMC2 3 4 | DUB 1 4 | DUB 2 7 | DUB 3 3 | YMC3 1 | YMC3 2 | YMC3 3 | LUS 1 | LUS 2 | LUS 3 | 7th | 125 |

### Complete Formula Regional European 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 | DC | Points |
| 2024 | Saintéloc Racing | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 7 | SPA 1 11 | SPA 2 7 | ZAN 1 17 | ZAN 2 13 | HUN 1 DSQ | HUN 2 9 | MUG 1 23 | MUG 2 14 | LEC 1 11 | LEC 2 14 | IMO 1 7 | IMO 2 8 | RBR 1 13 | RBR 2 1 | CAT 1 6 | CAT 2 11 | MNZ 1 4 | MNZ 2 4 | 9th | 81 |

### Complete Macau Grand Prix results

| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
| 2024 | Saintéloc Racing | Tatuus F3 T-318 | 8th | 11th | DSQ |

### Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
| 2025 | Van Amersfoort Racing | MEL SPR 7 | MEL FEA 3 | BHR SPR | BHR FEA | IMO SPR | IMO FEA | MON SPR | MON FEA | CAT SPR | CAT FEA | RBR SPR | RBR FEA | SIL SPR | SIL FEA | SPA SPR | SPA FEA | HUN SPR | HUN FEA | MNZ SPR | MNZ FEA | 2nd* | 19* |
* Season still in progress.