Théophile Naël
| Théophile Naël | |
|---|---|
 Naël in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  French |
| Born | 27 June 2007 Saint-Étienne, France |
| FRECA career | |
| Debut season | 2024 |
| Current team | Saintéloc Racing |
| Car number | 44 |
| Starts | 20 (20 entries) |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 9th in 2024 |
| Previous series | |
| 2024 2023 2022–2023 | FR Middle East Championship Formula 4 UAE Championship F4 Spanish Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2023 | F4 Spanish Championship |
Théophile Naël (born 27 June 2007) is a French racing driver who is the 2023 F4 Spanish champion. He most recently raced in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship for Saintéloc Racing.
Career
[edit]Karting
[edit]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.[1][2][3]
Formula 4
[edit]2022
[edit]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.[4] Having achieved four points finishes with a high of eighth place, Naël ended 19th in the standings with 11 points.
2023
[edit]During 2023 pre-season, Naël was announced to drive in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship with Saintéloc Racing.[5] With multiple points finishes across the season, Naël placed 11th in the standings.[6][7]
His full-time campaign would lie in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship, as he continued to drive for Saintéloc Racing.[8] His first podium came only in the second race in Spa-Francorchamps, before taking his maiden car racing win the next round in Aragón.[9] 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.[10] Another win the next round in Circuit Ricardo Tormo put him at the brink of the title.[11] 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.[12] He described his title win as "unbelievable" as he won against long-standing rivals Campos Racing and MP Motorsport.[13] He achieved eight wins, five poles and fourteen podiums whilst harnessing 314 points, 23 ahead of rival Ho.
Formula Regional
[edit]
Naël stepped up to the Formula Regional European Championship for 2024, continuing his relationship with Saintéloc Racing.[14] Before that, he competed in the pre-season Formula Regional Middle East Championship with the team.[15] He took his first Formula Regional win during the second round at Yas Marina and a further podium.[16] Ending the season with a third place, Naël was 11th in the standings.[17]
In his main campaign, Naël had a sluggish first half of the season with only three points finishes.[18] However, his breakthrough came at the Red Bull Ring where he won the second race from third on the grid.[19] He ended the season strongly with two fourth places in Monza, in which he even took his first pole in the final race.[20] Naël ended his first FRECA campaign ninth in the standings with 81 points.[21] He also partook in the Macau Grand Prix with Saintéloc.[22] 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.[23]
FIA Formula 3 Championship
[edit]In October 2024, Naël participated in the first round of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing at Jerez, with Van Amersfoort Racing.[24]
Karting record
[edit]Karting career summary
[edit]| 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 |
| French Championship — Cadet | 1st | ||
| National Series Karting — Cadet | 1st | ||
| 2019 | CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ | ||
| 2020 | IAME Series France — X30 Junior | 2N Racing | 1st |
| IAME Euro Series — X30 Junior | 3rd | ||
| IAME International Games — X30 Junior | 2N Racing | 51st | |
| 2021 | IAME Warriors Final — X30 Junior | 3rd | |
| Source:[25] | |||
Racing record
[edit]Racing career summary
[edit]| 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 |
| F4 Spanish Championship | 21 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 314 | 1st | ||
| 2024 | Formula Regional Middle East Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 11th |
| Formula Regional European Championship | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 9th | ||
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DSQ |
* Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
[edit](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 F4 UAE Championship results
[edit](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
[edit](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 |
Complete Formula Regional European Championship results
[edit](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
[edit]| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Saintéloc Racing
|
Tatuus F3 T-318 | 8th | 11th | DSQ |
References
[edit]- ^ "French Championship - Cadet 2018". DriverDB. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "National Series Karting - Cadet". DriverDB. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "IAME Series France - X30 Junior". DriverDB. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ Wood, Ida (5 July 2022). "Sainteloc Racing and Brazilian F4 duo to debut in Spanish F4 at Spa". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ Wood, Ida (14 December 2023). "Cram Motorsport and Sainteloc Racing reveal F4 UAE line-ups". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "F4 United Arab Emirates Championship 2023". DriverDB. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ Tassel, Pierre (22 February 2023). "Deux Top 10 pour conclure la saison F4 UAE". Saintéloc Racing (in French).
- ^ Wood, Ida (3 May 2023). "Sainteloc Racing reveals Spanish F4 line-up and Cram adds Silvaggi". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Allen, Peter (28 May 2023). "Nael takes his and Sainteloc Racing's first Spanish F4 win at Aragon". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Spanish F4 leader Théophile Naël: 'I knew there was an opportunity to do something in this championship'". Feeder Series. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Théophile Naël one step away from the F4 Spain title". Saintéloc Racing. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Allen, Peter (11 November 2023). "Nael clinches Spanish F4 crown even as Ho wins Barcelona race one". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Alonso Lopez, Alejandro (14 November 2023). "Theophile Nael: "To win versus Campos and MP is just unbelievable"". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Gascoigne, Roger (1 December 2023). "Nael, de Palo and Peugeot form Sainteloc's all-rookie 2024 FREC line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Wood, Ida (5 January 2024). "FRegional Middle East grid grows with a week to go before round one". Formula Scout. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ Gascoigne, Roger (20 January 2024). "Nael scores his and Sainteloc's first FRegional win at Yas Marina". Formula Scout. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Formula Regional Middle East Championship 2024 Standings". DriverDB. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Théophile in action: A look back at the intense Hungaroring weekend". theophilenael.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Allen, Peter (15 September 2024). "Nael beats Stromsted to first win in eventful race for FREC contenders". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Ugochukwu finally triumphs as Strømsted takes rookie championship: FR Europe Monza recap". Feeder Series. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Impressive performance by Théophile Naël at Monza". theophilenael.com. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "FIA FRegional World Cup: Macau Grand Prix guide". Feeder Series. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Wood, Ida (18 November 2024). "Three drivers get disqualified from Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Formula 3 begins post-season testing in Jerez". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Théophile Naël | Racing career profile | Driver Database". Driver DB. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Théophile Naël career summary at DriverDB.com