Exactly one year ago, French outfit Saintéloc Racing made its debut in single-seater racing by entering the fourth round of the F4 Spanish Championship in Spa. After a year of activity, Frenchman Théophile Naël sits on top of the standing with the French team. The young driver, born and raised in Saint-Etienne, where his team is based, spoke to Feeder Series about his career in single-seaters so far.

By Grégoire Devaux

This story seems to have come straight from a movie: a young driver living his dream as the first driver from a team based in his local city. Born in June 2007, Théophile Naël writes Saintéloc Racing’s story at the same time as he writes his, and both stories are just at the very beginning of, hopefully, a long and successful journey.

‘I’m a French driver and we’re both from Saint-Etienne… It’s magical!‘

Having already an established portfolio in GT Series and rallying since its creation in 2004, Saintéloc Racing expanded its activity to single-seaters in 2022. What better choice for them than a local driver born and raised in Saint-Etienne, where the team’s headquarters are based? The association came naturally between both sides and was the start of a strong relationship running for the same objective: progress, learn, and win together.

“The team is from Saint-Etienne, like me, so it’s true that the association came about naturally. It creates a completely different objective. We’re the only French team, I’m a French driver, and we’re both from Saint-Etienne… It’s magical.”

Naël’s racing journey started like everybody else’s, in Karting, when he received his first kart at four years old. That kickstarted the passion that led him to the 2017 French Championship title in the cadet category, in which he notably had Alessandro Giusti – also currently competing in FRECA – as one of his opponents.

After shining in France, Naël took over the European stage, sitting third in the X30 Junior category of the 2021 IAME Euro Series. There, he finished ahead of a strong pool of talents, such as William MacIntyre, who currently leads the British F4 championship; Italian F4 drivers Matteo Quintarelli, Ethan Ischer, and Zachary David; and Federico Al-Rifai, his rival in Spanish F4 this season.

His promotion to single-seaters was then only a question of time, and when the moment came, the step was big, but nothing to fear for a driver with such eagerness for success. 

“It’s a big change from karting to F4,” Naël told Feeder Series. “You must consider the size of the car, the starting grid, and the strategies that have been put in place. There’s quite a lot of adjustment to make, but it all happened naturally.” 

However, driving a kart and a car are totally different, and the French talent had to focus more on his driving style and how to channel emotions. 

“I had to reduce my aggressiveness. That’s what caused me a few problems at the beginning of last season. I made a few mistakes because of that.”

‘We’re evolving and progressing together’

After a promising start in single-seaters, taking 11 points across the last four rounds of the season, it was time for Naël to get ready for the 2023 season, the first full season in single-seater racing for him and the team.

Ahead of the Spanish F4 season, the team travelled to the United Arab Emirates to compete in F4 UAE. Despite an interesting campaign, in which he finished twice in fourth-place and came home 11th in the general standings, it’s with mixed emotions that the French driver reflects on his first preseason championship. 

“After the F4 UAE, my impressions were pretty mixed,” he admitted. “There were some positive things. I scored some points, I missed out on a podium because of a penalty, I managed to score some big points. We worked a lot on the car to develop it as much as possible ahead of the Spanish F4 season. 

“However, there were also quite a few mistakes made by me and the team. It’s a brand-new team, and we’re evolving and progressing together. It was important to prepare for what’s to come.”

I’m quite focused on myself, I’m doing my job. What’s around me, I try to get through

Théophile Naël

Competing alongside Luciano Moreno and Theodor Jensen, his teammates for the Spanish F4 season, was a positive thing for Théophile Naël, who finished ahead of them and had the opportunity to learn more from them and develop a team spirit to stick together ahead of a long season. 

“It’s true that, for me, it’s important to have team-mates who are solid enough to be able to develop together. Taking data from another driver, helping each other… It’s important. But I’m quite focused on myself, I’m doing my job. What’s around me, I try to get through.”

Before the start of the season, Naël and Saintéloc slowly but surely affirmed themselves as the biggest outsiders for this season. Sitting third on the first day of collective testing before topping the last session on the second day, Naël was ready to shine in the championship. 

“I knew there was an opportunity to do something in this championship because the pre-season tests were positive.”

 The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is one that brings him good memories, as he claimed his first podium in single-seaters during the second race of the weekend after an amazing comeback through the grid. Starting respectively 15th and 11th in the two other races of the weekend, Naël showed his overtaking skills and pace once again to finish seventh and sixth.

After achieving his first podium in Spa, the French driver didn’t wait long before taking his maiden win in single-seaters – earning it in race three at the second round in Motorland Aragon. This win was soon followed by two others in Navarra, helping him to take the lead in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of MP Motorsport’s Brazilian talent Pedro Clerot.

However, sitting 24 points on top, Théophile Naël remains focused and doesn’t want to burn the steps that led to his success.

“The title is obviously still in the back of my mind, but for the moment, we’re working as usual, continuing to progress step by step, and we’ll see at the end of the season. I didn’t set myself a target. We’re doing our best, trying to keep up all the positive things we’ve done so far. We’re doing pretty well at the moment, but there’s still half a season to go. We must keep doing.”

A promising talent aiming for the top

Whatever the outcome, Théophile Naël’s first full season in single-seaters is already a tremendous success. Nothing would be possible without the effort of Saintéloc Racing, which is quickly affirming itself as one of the most reliable teams in Spanish F4.

Since the creation of the championship in 2016, only one team has managed to win the title over F2 and F3 giants MP Motorsport and Campos – that being Drivex in 2019 with current F3 driver Franco Colapinto.

Saintéloc could then achieve an amazing exploit, while Théophile Naël could be the first French driver to win the championship, proving once again that French racing is rising more than ever. The road is still long, however, with four rounds remaining.

After the summer break, drivers will head to Jerez at the end of September for a doubleheader followed by Estoril the weekend after. After the last race abroad of the season, the grid will go to the famous Valencia circuit before the season finale at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in mid-November.

As there’s still a lot to play for this season, nothing is decided for Naël’s future yet. One thing’s for sure, the objective is to move on to the next step of the single-seater pyramid, whether as the Spanish F4 driver title champion or not. 

“At the moment, to be honest, we don’t really know for next season. We’ll see how the Spanish F4 season ends, and only then will we decide what our plans are for 2024. The aim is to move on, to grow and take a step forward, to discover something new, but we’ll see what the future brings.”

Header photo credit: Spanish F4