Clément Novalak took his first FIA Formula 2 win in the frenetic Zandvoort Feature Race.
His victory marks Trident’s first Feature Race win in over nine years. Although Novalak won the Safety Car lottery, his race was still extremely impressive.
His lead began on Lap 10, after championship leader, Théo Pourchaire crashed after his pit stop. Despite Trident not having the season that they would’ve hoped for, he managed to keep behind two charging Red Bull juniors, Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford to take the chequered flag.
Speaking exclusively to insideF2 writer, Michael McClure, Novalak opened up about a tricky couple of years he experienced since stepping up from Formula 3, where he finished third in the standings with Trident:
“It’s been a long time coming. Obviously, we came close in F3 a couple of times in the last couple of years.
“It’s been particularly tough, in terms of coming off the back of a good F3 season and being so close to F1 and not being able to achieve the results you want and get the promotion is sometimes difficult to live with but today things lined up for me. Yeah, I’m chuffed!”
Novalak then explained what makes Zandvoort such a special circuit for him:
“I have to quote James Hunt but, ‘big balls!’ No, I’m joking. But in general, I think it’s not easy to learn this track, in the sense of that… it’s not easy to learn this track.
“To be honest, I think, in general, I’ve always been quite quick here and I found a rhythm that I think maybe some drivers struggle to [find].”
Monza is next for the F2 calendar and Novalak explains the key for success:
“The key in every championship, every track and every category is to nail Qualifying. Whilst Monza is one of those places where you really need to work on that and hopefully get a strong Friday.
“You can still overtake. It’s going to be chaotic because the DRS is so powerful there and I’m sure it’s going to be a great race to watch and maybe we can can come away with a good result.”
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
