Théophile Naël

Théophile Guy Yannick Naël (born 22 June 2007) is a French racing driver who currently competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Campos.

Naël is the 2023 F4 Spanish champion. He finished eighth in FIA Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing in and also won the Macau Grand Prix that year.

Racing career Karting (2017–2021) 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.

Formula 4 (2022–2023) 2022 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. Having achieved four points finishes with a high of eighth place, Naël ended 19th in the standings with eleven points.

2023 During 2023 pre-season, Naël was announced to drive in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship with Saintéloc Racing. With multiple points finishes across the season, Naël placed 11th in the standings.

Naël driving at Spa-Francorchamps during the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship. Naël's full-time campaign would lie in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship, as he continued to drive for Saintéloc Racing. His first podium came only in the second race in Spa-Francorchamps, before taking his maiden car racing win the next round in Aragón. 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. Another win the next round in Circuit Ricardo Tormo put him at the brink of the title. 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. He described his title win as "unbelievable" as he won against long-standing rivals Campos Racing and MP Motorsport. Naël achieved eight wins, five poles and fourteen podiums whilst harnessing 314 points, 23 ahead of rival Ho.

Formula Regional (2024–2025)

2024 Naël stepped up to the Formula Regional European Championship for 2024, continuing his relationship with Saintéloc Racing. Before that, he competed in the pre-season Formula Regional Middle East Championship with the team. He took his first Formula Regional win during the second round at Yas Marina and a further podium. Naël ended the season 11th overall.

In his main campaign, Naël had a sluggish first half with only three points finishes. However, his breakthrough came at the Red Bull Ring where he won the second race from third on the grid. He ended the season strongly with two fourth places in Monza, in which he even took his first pole in the final race. Naël ended his first FRECA campaign ninth in the standings with 81 points. He also partook in the Macau Grand Prix with Saintéloc. 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.

2025 Naël returned to Formula Regional during the winter, contesting the first three rounds of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Saintéloc Racing. He would get one podium in each round and finished the championship in 7th with 125 points.

FIA Formula 3 (2025–present) 2025

In October 2024, Naël participated in the first round of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing at Jerez, with Van Amersfoort Racing. He would soon be confirmed as part of Van Amersfoort Racing's lineup for the 2025 season, alongside Santiago Ramos and Ivan Domingues. He began the season with third in qualifying for the Melbourne opener, He made up positions in the sprint race to finish in seventh, and held his position in a wet feature race to secure his maiden podium on debut in the series. This proved a false dawn, as he failed to score points after qualifying out of the top-12 for the next three rounds. Qualifying fourth in Barcelona, he moved up in the sprint race and improved to fifth position. He improved this feat in the feature race, making a move on Laurens van Hoepen during a late safety car, allowing him to take second place, marking his return to the rostrum.

After scoring a single point in Austria, Naël looked set for a win in the Silverstone sprint race, but dropped in pace towards the end and eventually finished fourth; post-race penalties for incidents with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Van Hoepen dropped him to 19th place. 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. Hungary rewarded Naël with ninth and fifth in the races, despite being involved in a collision with Noel León in the earlier sprint race. Concluding the season in Monza with a tenth place, Naël finished his rookie F3 season eighth in the standings with 72 points, the highest VAR driver.

2026 Staying in the series for a second season, Naël switched to reigning champions Campos Racing for .

Formula E In March 2026, Naël will sample Formula E machinery during the Madrid rookie test with Mahindra Racing.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record Racing career summary 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 8thMacau Grand PrixKCMG Enya Pinnacle Motorsport 1 1 0 1 1 1st 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship Campos Racing 13 2 3 0 4 75 3rd* Season still in progress.

Complete F4 Spanish 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 DC Points 2022 Saintéloc Racing ALG1 ALG2 ALG3 JER1 JER2 JER3 CRT1 CRT2 CRT3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 ARA1 ARA2 ARA3 NAV1 NAV2 NAV3 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 19th 11 2023 Saintéloc Racing SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 ARA1 ARA2 ARA3 NAV1 NAV2 NAV3 JER1 JER2 JER3 EST1 EST2 EST3 CRT1 CRT2 CRT3 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 1st 314

Complete Formula 4 UAE 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 DC Points 2023 Saintéloc Racing DUB11 DUB12 DUB13 KMT11 KMT12 KMT13 KMT21 KMT22 KMT23 DUB21 DUB22 DUB23 YMC1 YMC2 YMC3 11th 49

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results (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 YMC11 YMC12 YMC13 YMC21 YMC22 YMC23 DUB11 DUB12 DUB13 YMC31 YMC32 YMC33 DUB21 DUB22 DUB23 11th 75 2025 Saintéloc Racing YMC11 YMC12 YMC13 YMC21 YMC22 YMC23 DUB1 DUB2 DUB3 YMC31 YMC32 YMC33 LUS1 LUS2 LUS3 7th 125

Complete Formula Regional European 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 DC Points 2024 Saintéloc Racing HOC1 HOC2 SPA1 SPA2 ZAN1 ZAN2 HUN1 HUN2 MUG1 MUG2 LEC1 LEC2 IMO1 IMO2 RBR1 RBR2 CAT1 CAT2 MNZ1 MNZ2 9th 81

Complete Macau Grand Prix results Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race 2024 Saintéloc Racing Tatuus F3 T-318 8th 11th DSQ 2025 KCMG Enya Pinnacle Motorsport Tatuus F3 T-318 1st 3rd 1st

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results (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 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2025 Van Amersfoort Racing MELSPR MELFEA BHRSPR BHRFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA SPASPR SPAFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA 8th 72 2026 Campos Racing MELSPR MELFEA MONSPR MONFEA CATSPR CATFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA SILSPR SILFEA SPASPR SPAFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA MADSPR MADFEA1 MADFEA2 3rd* 75* Season still in progress.