Novalak was born in Avignon, France, to a French father and a Swiss mother. He moved to Montreux in Switzerland as a child and later to Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom during his teens. His father, who introduced him to motorsport, died in 2017; Novalak subsequently added his father's birthday in Roman numerals to his helmet as a tribute. He began karting in France at age ten, winning the WSK Super Master Series in 2015 among other karting titles. Oliver Oakes, founder of Hitech Grand Prix and a former karting champion, backed Novalak from 2014.
Novalak made his single-seater debut in the 2018 Toyota Racing Series with Giles Motorsport, taking two wins at Teretonga and Hampton Downs to finish fifth overall and as top rookie. He then signed with Josef Kaufmann Racing for the Formula Renault Eurocup that year. His first season in BRDC British F3 with Carlin in 2018 was part-time, with a best finish of fourth across four rounds.
In 2019 Novalak secured a full-time Carlin seat in British F3. He and title rival Johnathan Hoggard were embroiled in a collision on the final lap of the season finale, leaving both with minimal points — but Novalak's four points from that race were enough to clinch the championship despite Hoggard winning the last race.
After his British F3 title, Novalak joined Carlin for the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, where he scored his first podium in Austria. For 2021 he switched to Trident, driving alongside Jack Doohan and David Schumacher. He scored points in all three races at Paul Ricard and collected a double podium at Zandvoort, profiting from a late collision between Schumacher and Victor Martins. At the season finale at Sochi, Novalak's Trident teammate Doohan ignored team orders to let him past and won the race, leaving Novalak third after being passed late by Frederik Vesti. Despite the intra-team friction, Novalak finished third in the drivers' championship and helped Trident win the teams' title.
Novalak joined MP Motorsport for the final two rounds of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship before staying with the team for 2022, partnering eventual champion Felipe Drugovich. The season was inconsistent: his sole podium came with second in the Zandvoort sprint race, and he ended 14th in the standings while MP won the teams' title.
For 2023 Novalak moved to Trident alongside Czech rookie Roman Staněk. Early rounds brought limited results, and a likely podium in Austria was struck from the record when post-race scrutineering found the car's rear tyre pressures below the legal limit. A breakthrough came at Zandvoort: running long before a safety car period, Novalak found himself in the lead and held off Zane Maloney to take his maiden Formula 2 victory. He departed Trident before the season finale at Yas Marina, finishing the year without a championship placing.
In November 2023 Novalak tested an LMP2 car at the WEC rookie test in Bahrain with Inter Europol Competition. The team subsequently announced him for the full 2024 European Le Mans Series season. He also made his endurance racing debut at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona with Inter Europol in January of that year.
Novalak took part in an assessment with the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2017.