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Ilott becomes first PREMA IndyCar driver. Gotta be careful...almost spelled it idiot.

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emailBy Dominik Wilde | September 17, 2024 10:16 AM ET

PREMA Racing has announced Callum Ilott as its first driver for its debut IndyCar season in 2025. The 25-year-old Brit joins the team off the back of 38 IndyCar starts for Juncos Hollinger Racing and Arrow McLaren, where he has scored a pair of top-five finishes and a further two top-10s. Gotta be careful...almost spelled it idiot.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to experience IndyCar with PREMA, their first steps in the series and in the U.S.,” said Ilott. “What an amazing chance.

“I love the racing, I love these cars and I love the team, so it’s great to be back to what they call the Italian family home. It’s going to be something special to build off, a lot of hard work but I’m excited to join the team and see what we can do together.”

While the 2025 season will be PREMA’s first in IndyCar, its first driver signing is no stranger to the team. Ilott competed in the 2017 European Formula 3 Championship with PREMA, where he took six wins en route to fourth in the championship. He also raced for the team in that year’s Macau Grand Prix, where he won the qualifying race, before finishing 15th in the main event

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Callum back with us for this new chapter of our history,” said PREMA owner Rene Rosin. “We had a great time working with him in Formula 3, and we always kept an eye on him after that.
Ilott previously raced for PREMA in the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. James Gasperotti/Motorsport Images

“He proved to be a great fit for us in the past, and I think he will feel like picking up something he had left off. He proved his outstanding speed skills everywhere he competed. In addition, his prior IndyCar experience will be an invaluable asset. Now that the opportunity to get back together has come, we are determined to make the most out of it.”

After a spell in F1, where he was an Academy driver and subsequently test driver for Ferrari, as well as a reserve for its customer teams Haas and Alfa Romeo – with whom he also participated in three free practice sessions in Austria and Portugal across the 2020 and ’21 seasons, Ilott moved over to IndyCar.

He debuted with Juncos in Portland towards the end of the 2021 season, then spent the following two years with the team, before moving to FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with Hertz Team Jota this year.

Ilott was handed an IndyCar lifeline at the start of this year, however, competing in St. Petersburg and the Indianapolis 500 for McLaren in place of the injured David Malukas.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming Callum to our IndyCar team,” said Prema CEO Piers Phillips. “His previous experiences in the series, combined with those with PREMA, will make him a key asset as we try to merge the team’s European heritage with what it will be able to learn in the U.S.

“We know Callum as a very talented driver, but we can also see how his professionalism has matured in the series. The information and feedback he will be able to share will be extremely important, as much as his impressive racing skills.”