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PREMA Racing is a renowned outfit in the European racing world due to its rich racing heritage in feeder series. Many F1 drivers have raced for the team, including Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. When asked about the Italian racing outfit's racing legacy, former Ferrari-backed driver Callum Ilott stated that PREMA will bring a European twist to the American racing scene.
Ilott has been racing in IndyCar since 2021. He has raced for Juncos Hollinger Racing and Arrow McLaren in his four years in the series and has become an established driver within the racing realm.
On the other hand, the Briton drove for the Italian outfit in the FIA F3 championship in 2017 and has reunited with them for his 2025 campaign. It will be the first year for PREMA in IndyCar, and when asked by IndyCar Radio to introduce the team for its fans, Callum Ilott said:
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"So, PREMA has been going around for 40 years in Europe and they have had the most success in Europe out of any race team from what I understand. They have won in F4, F3, F2, [and] many other racing series. Normally, what they enter, they win. So, coming to the NTT IndyCar series is a big step up from what's been happening in Europe and probably the most competitive series that they are going to be racing in. But they are going to bring a European twist to what is American motorsports," Illot said (0:24 onwards).
The 26-year-old has driven the 2025 challenger at two different tracks for pre-season testing, Thermal Club Raceway and Sebring.
Callum Ilott shares his first impressions of driving the PREMA Racing IndyCar
PREMA Racing got some essential mileage in during the two tests to help accelerate development in the 2025 season. Ilott shared his thoughts on driving the car around the 3.067-mile track towards the end of January, and said (via PREMA Racing):
"We got quite a few things to work through like any first day of testing, and once we got going properly, we had a good starting point. There's a lot of anticipation as it's been a long time coming for this project, so it's amazing to see everything up and running. We worked on building a good baseline, adapting and optimizing every little thing, see what's a good idea and what's not... We just need to keep the pace and everything will go well."
The British driver posted a time good enough for eighth place at the second test in Sebring. His fastest lap (52.4998s) around the shortened layout was less than three tenths of a second slower, indicating the Italian giant can be a strong contender for the midfield battle.
The streets of St. Petersburg will host the season opener for the 2025 IndyCar season. Cars will begin rolling out of the garages at 3 PM Eastern Time for the first practice session of the season.
Drivers will utilize the session to get used to their cars for the important qualifying and race sessions lined up ahead, as the green flag will wave on March 2 at noon Eastern Time.
