PREMA Confirms Ilott As Team’s First IndyCar Driver

Callum Ilott (Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment photo)

FISHERS, Ind. – PREMA Racing announced Tuesday morning that 25-year-old Briton Callum Ilott will pilot one of the team’s two NTT IndyCar Series entries next season.

The new deal marks a homecoming for Ilott, a former Formula 3 European Championship driver for PREMA who won six races and earned 11 podium finishes in 2017 en route to fourth place in the point standings.

Ilott has raced primarily in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season, earning his first Hypercar victory with Hertz Team Jota during the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May alongside co-driver Will Stevens.

However, he has 38 IndyCar starts to his name, including a pair of top-five finishes during his two full-time seasons with Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2022 and ’23.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Callum back with us for this new chapter of our history,” said PREMA Racing owner René Rosin. “We had a great time working with him in Formula 3, and we always kept an eye on him after that. 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.

Ilott’s path through the formula ranks later went through GP3 (2018) and FIA Formula 2 (2019-’20), before he earned roles as Ferrari’s Formula One test driver in 2021 and one of Alfa Romeo’s F-1 reserve drivers in both 2021 and 2022.

Notably, Ilott was the runner-up in the F-2 championship in 2020 to friend and fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher.

After his full-time IndyCar stint with JHR dried up at the end of last season, Ilott turned his focus to sports cars and his WEC opportunity, but returned to IndyCar briefly this year and made a pair of starts with Arrow McLaren in place of the injured David Malukas.

In fact, Ilott’s career-best Indianapolis 500 finish of 11th came with Arrow McLaren in May. He has made the last three runnings of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing since first debuting in the ‘500’ in 2022.

His IndyCar experience is something that the PREMA team believes will be invaluable as they look to build a long-term presence in American open-wheel racing, after so much prior success in Europe.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming Callum to our IndyCar team. 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 United States,” noted PREMA Racing IndyCar CEO Piers Phillips. “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.”

As for Ilott, he’s eager to begin the second chapter of his journey in Indy car racing, noting that reuniting with PREMA after seven years away “feels like coming home.”

“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, and we know it will take a lot of hard work, but I’m excited to join the team and see what we can do together.”

The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season kicks off Sunday, March 2 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Broadcast coverage airs live on FOX and the IndyCar Radio Network.