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.[2]
Toyota Racing Series
In 2018, Novalak made his single-seater debut in the championship with Giles Motorsport.[3] Claiming two wins at Teretonga and Hampton Downs saw him end the season fifth and as top rookie.[4][5]
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.[7][8] In February 2020, Novalak was named as part of Carlin's lineup for the 2020 season,[9] which includes him, Cameron Das and Enaam Ahmed. He scored his first podium in Austria.
In the post-season test at Catalunya, Novalak joined the Trident outfit and set the fastest time of the second day's morning session.[10][11] He ended up signing with the team for the 2021 season, driving alongside Jack Doohan and David Schumacher.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] Another crash, this time caused by Arthur Leclerc, forced Novalak out of the feature race, meaning that he wouldn't score points that round.[16]
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.[17] 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.[18][19] 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.[20] Despite this, Novalak, who ended up third in the drivers' championship, had helped Trident to take the teams' title.[21]
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.[22] His best finish ended up being 14th, which he achieved in three separate races.
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.[23] 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.[24] He ended his season 14th in the drivers' standings, helping MP to win the teams' title.[25]
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.[26]
The opening three rounds yielded little success, as Novalak continued to struggle in qualifying, leaving him with a best finish of eleventh at Melbourne.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29] However, post-race inspections found that the car's rear tyre pressures were below the legal limit, forcing the race officials to disqualify Novalak.[30][31]
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.[32] 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.[33] 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.[34][35]
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."[40] 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."[41]
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.[42]
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