Clément Novalak (; born 23 December 2000) is a French and Swiss racing driver who last competed in the European Le Mans Series for TDS Racing.
Novalak won the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin in 2019.
Junior racing career
Karting Novalak started karting in France when he was ten 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 four of the eight rounds in that season with the best finish being fourth, 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 four 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 two 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. He 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, Novalak 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 SeasonSeriesTeamPosition2011Championnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime13thBridgestone Cup — Minime23rdFrench Championship — Minime64th2012Trophée Oscar Petit — Minime2ndChampionnat Regional PACAC — Minime10thChampionnat Regional Rhone-Alpes — Minime5thBridgestone Cup — Minime9thTrophée Kart Mag — Minime1stFrench Championship — Minime9thRegional Series — Minime7th2013Rotax Winter Cup — Rotax Junior30thTrophée Oscar Petit — Nationale10thRotax Euro Challenge — Rotax Junior62ndChallenge Rotax Max France — Cadet14thCoupe de France — Cadet8th2014South Garda Winter Cup — KFJKosmic Racing Departement16thWSK Champions Cup — KFJ44thWSK Super Master Series — KFJ33rdCIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ39thCIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ33rdWSK Final Cup — KFJ29th2015WSK Champions Cup — KFJTony Kart Racing Team8thSouth Garda Winter Cup — KFJ5thWSK Super Master Series — KFJ1stCIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ5thCIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ2ndWSK Final Cup — KFJ33rdSKUSA SuperNationals — JuniorTeam Koene USA40th2016WSK Champions Cup — OKTony Kart Racing Team31stSouth Garda Winter Cup — OK26thWSK Super Master Series — OK6thCIK-FIA European Championship — OK8thGerman Karting Championship — OK4thWSK Final Cup — OK6thCIK-FIA World Championship — OK15thKartmasters Grand Prix — OK2nd2017WSK Champions Cup — OKTony Kart Racing Team4thSouth Garda Winter Cup — OK7thWSK Super Master Series — OK1stCIK-FIA European Championship — OK12thCIK-FIA World Championship — OK20thSwedish Karting Championship — OKWard Racing3rd
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 14th2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 24 1 0 2 1 28 17th2024 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Inter Europol Competition 6 0 0 0 1 47 7th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd 2025 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Pro-Am TDS Racing 6 1 0 0 3 89 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 Pro-Am 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 RUA1 RUA2 RUA3 TER1 TER2 TER3 HMP1 HMP2 HMP3 TAU1 TAU2 TAU3 MAN1 MAN2 MAN3 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 LEC1 LEC2 MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 MON1 MON2 RBR1 RBR2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 CAT1 CAT2 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 PAU1 PAU2 MNZ1 MNZ2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 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 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 ROC1 ROC2 ROC3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 DON1 DON2 DON3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 18th 120 2019 Carlin OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 DON11 DON12 DON13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 DON21 DON22 DON23 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)