Callum Ilott highlights the Ferrari factor that will boost PREMA's IndyCar campaign

Former F2 driver Callum Ilott joined PREMA’s IndyCar team for the 2025 season as the Italian team prepares to make its debut in the American open-wheel racing series. The Briton sat down for an interview and answered questions about the team as he looked forward to the 2025 IndyCar season.

Callum Ilott will be partnering with Robert Shwartzman for PREMA’s 2025 IndyCar campaign. Both Illot and Shwartzman are former Ferrari academy drivers and have served the roles of Scuderia test drivers for the F1 team, which included a lot of back-end and simulator work.

The Briton detailed how his experience with Ferrari will help PREMA in its debut season in IndyCar with the development of the car and the setups. He said, (via fastestformulanews.com)

“I think a mix. What’s exciting about me and Robert is we’ve obviously done Formula 2, we’ve done Formula 3. We’ve been brought up in the same Formula 1 team and learned a lot about the developmental side of cars and how to make them better, whether it’s on a simulator or in real life.”

Callum Ilott then detailed how his experience in IndyCar will also benefit PREMA. He explained how he joined Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2021 when the team was renamed and built itself from the ground up once again while highlighting the importance of driving for McLaren.

“There was a lot of development starting from zero. It’s a lot of discovery. And then I also got the experience for a couple of races last year with McLaren and being able to see how a smaller team does it and a fairly larger team does it and get the experience on an oval, on a road course, on a street circuit at both those sides,” added Illot.

Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman will further be boosted by the joining of former F1 driver Romain Grosjean in the reserve driver role.

Callum Ilott detailed Romain Grosjean's role at PREMA

Romain Grosjean was announced as PREMA'S Reserve Driver for the 2025 IndyCar campaign at the livery launch in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 10. Callum Ilott came out on the Pit Pass Indy podcast and explained the Frenchman's role within the team, and how it’ll help him and Shwartzman.

“Maybe it adds, I don't know, an extra level to IndyCar. Obviously, it's a very tough series on the driver's side. It's hard to stay in the loop, and I think that's important. I know I struggled a bit last year being out of the loop. Hopefully, that can add to it and Romain's a good guy, super fast, he knows his stuff, and I think, when he's there, he's gonna be helping us as well.” (11:10 onwards)

PREMA’s drivers participated in the IndyCar test on January 28 at the Thermal Club, their first official outing in the 2025 competition. The team will be making its official debut on March 2 at the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix.