Clément Novalak
Clément Novalak (born 23 December 2000) is a French-Swiss racing driver currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for MP Motorsport. He previously raced in the FIA Formula Three Championship for Carlin and Trident and won the 2019 British F3 Championship with Carlin. 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. FIA Formula 2 Championship. 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. Formula One. In 2017, Novalak partook in an assessment with the Ferrari Driver Academy. 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.". Racing record. Racing career summary. As Novalak was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results. <nowiki>*</nowiki> Season still in progress.