Théophile Naël

Théophile Guy Yannick Naël (born 27 June 2007) is a French racing driver who is set to compete 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 2025 and also won the Macau 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 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 eleven points.

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]

Naël's 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.

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] 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 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]

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.^[24]

In October 2024, Naël participated in the first round of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing at Jerez, with Van Amersfoort Racing.^[25] He would soon be confirmed as part of Van Amersfoort Racing's lineup for the 2025 season, alongside Santiago Ramos and Ivan Domingues.^[26][27] He began the season with third in qualifying for the Melbourne 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 in Barcelona,^[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 on Laurens 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 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.^[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 with Noel León in the earlier sprint race.^[40][41] 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.^[42]

Staying in the series for a second season, Naël switched to reigning champions Campos Racing for 2026.^[43]

* Season still in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• Official website
• Théophile Naël career summary at DriverDB.com