| Théophile Naël | |
|---|---|
 Naël at the2025 Macau Grand Prix | |
| Nationality |  French |
| Born | Théophile Guy Yannick Naël (2007-06-27)27 June 2007 (age 18) Saint-Étienne, Loire, France |
| FIA Formula 3 Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2025 |
| Current team | Campos Racing |
| Car number | TBA |
| Former teams | Van Amersfoort Racing |
| Starts | 19 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 8th in2025 |
| Previous series | |
| 2024–2025 2023 2022–2023 | FR Middle East F4 UAE F4 Spanish |
| Championship titles | |
| 2025 2023 | Macau Grand Prix F4 Spanish |
Théophile Guy Yannick Naël (born 27 June 2007) is a Frenchracing driver who is set to compete in theFIA Formula 3 Championship forCampos.
Naël is the2023 F4 Spanish champion. He finished eighth inFIA Formula 3 withVan Amersfoort Racing in2025 and also won theMacau Grand Prix that year.
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]
Naël made his single-seater debut during the fourth round of the2022 F4 Spanish Championship withSaintéloc Racing atSpa-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.
During 2023 pre-season, Naël was announced to drive in the2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship withSaintéloc Racing.[5] With multiple points finishes across the season, Naël placed 11th in the standings.[6][7]
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Naël's full-time campaign would lie in the2023 F4 Spanish Championship, as he continued to drive for Saintéloc Racing.[8] His first podium came only in the second race inSpa-Francorchamps, before taking his maiden car racing win the next round inAragón.[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 inCircuit Ricardo Tormo put him at the brink of the title.[11] Despite a complete sweep by rivalChristian Ho during the season finale inBarcelona, 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 rivalsCampos Racing andMP Motorsport.[13] He achieved eight wins, five poles and fourteen podiums whilst harnessing 314 points, 23 ahead of rival Ho.
Naël stepped up to theFormula Regional European Championship for 2024, continuing his relationship withSaintéloc Racing.[14] Before that, he competed in the pre-seasonFormula Regional Middle East Championship with the team.[15] He took his first Formula Regional win during the second round atYas Marina and a further podium.[16] Naël ended the season 11th overall.[17]
In his main campaign, Naël had a sluggish first half with only three points finishes.[18] However, his breakthrough came at theRed Bull Ring where he won the second race from third on the grid.[19] He ended the season strongly with two fourth places inMonza, 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 theMacau 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]
Naël returned to Formula Regional during the winter, contesting the first three rounds of theFormula Regional Middle East Championship withSaintéloc Racing. He would get one podium in each round and finished the championship in 7th with 125 points.[24]
In October 2024, Naël participated in the first round ofFIA Formula 3 post-season testing atJerez, withVan Amersfoort Racing.[25] He would soon be confirmed as part of Van Amersfoort Racing's lineup for the2025 season, alongsideSantiago Ramos andIvan Domingues.[26][27] He began the season with third in qualifying for theMelbourne opener,[28] He made up positions in the sprint race to finish in seventh,[29] and held his position in a wet feature race to secure his maiden podium on debut in the series.[30][31] This proved a false dawn, as he failed to score points after qualifying out of the top 12 for the next three rounds.[32][33][34] Qualifying fourth inBarcelona,[35] he moved up in the sprint race and improved to fifth position.[36] He improved this feat in the feature race, making a move onLaurens van Hoepen during a late safety car, allowing him to take second place, marking his return to the rostrum.[37]
After scoring a single point inAustria, Naël looked set for a win in theSilverstone sprint race, but dropped in pace towards the end and eventually finished fourth; post-race penalties for incidents withTasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Van Hoepen dropped him to 19th place.[38] He made amends for this in a damp feature race with a correct choice of tyres, as he secured another second-place podium after making up seven places on the opening lap.[39]Hungary rewarded Naël with ninth and fifth in the races, despite being involved in a collision withNoel León in the earlier sprint race.[40][41] Concluding the season inMonza with a tenth place, Naël finished his rookie F3 season eighth in the standings with 72 points, the highest VAR driver.[42]
Staying in the series for a second season, Naël switched to reigning championsCampos Racing for2026.[43]
| 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:[44] | |||
| 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 | — | DSQ | ||
| 2025 | Formula Regional Middle East Championship | Saintéloc Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 125 | 7th |
| FIA Formula 3 Championship | Van Amersfoort Racing | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 72 | 8th | |
| Macau Grand Prix | KCMGEnyaPinnacle Motorsport | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1st | |
| 2026 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Campos Racing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD |
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 |
| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Saintéloc Racing | Tatuus F3 T-318 | 8th | 11th | DSQ |
| 2025 |  KCMGEnyaPinnacle Motorsport | Tatuus F3 T-318 | 1st | 3rd | 1st |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics 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 Ret | BHR FEA 15 | IMO SPR 20 | IMO FEA 26 | MON SPR 16 | MON FEA 22† | CAT SPR 5 | CAT FEA 2 | RBR SPR 11 | RBR FEA 10 | SIL SPR 19 | SIL FEA 2 | SPA SPR 22 | SPA FEA C | HUN SPR 9 | HUN FEA 5 | MNZ SPR 10 | MNZ FEA 18 | 8th | 72 |
| 2026 | Campos Racing | MEL SPR | MEL FEA | BHR SPR | BHR 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 | MAD SPR | MAD FEA | TBD | TBD |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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|---|---|
| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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| Vehicles |
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | F4 Spanish Championship Champion 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Macau Grand Prix Winner 2025 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
