Prema drivers absent from IndyCar media days, St. Petersburg has doubts?

Plagued by financial difficulties, the team founded in the 80s by Angelo Rosin and Giorgio Piccolo is still uncertain whether it will be able to participate in the full season.IndyCar in 2026. The Rosin family left the team this January, and it now seems certain that it cannot continue without a buyer. Discussions are still ongoing, led by team manager Piers Phillips, but as we previously reported, time is running out for the Italian team, with engine supply contracts with Chevrolet and tire contracts with Firestone to be finalized before the end of January.

As it does every year, IndyCar is holding two media days this Tuesday and Wednesday for the entire field, allowing journalists to attend press conferences and television and radio media to record content that can be used throughout the season. While attendance at these days is not mandatory, full-time drivers and those confirmed to participate in the Indianapolis 500 are generally present, and this year is no exception.

There was no sign, however, of Robert Shwartzman or Callum Ilott, the two Prema drivers still under contract for the 2026 season. This coincides with increasingly persistent rumors that the team will likely be forced to skip the Phoenix tests in February and the first race of the season in early March while it secures funding. Prema would be perfectly within its rights to run only a partial season, but it would need to reach an agreement with Chevrolet to do so. In any case, the team can no longer count on the services of Ryan Briscoe, a former IndyCar driver who served as Prema's driver coach. The Australian has joined the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team in the same role, where he will work with, among others... Mick Schumacher, for the German driver's first season.

There was no sign of the second Dale Coyne Racing driver either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Dennis Hauger's teammate is still unknown, and it might not be until the Phoenix tests, scheduled for February 17th and 18th, two weeks before the start of the season. Romain Grosjean, who told us in Daytona that IndyCar remains his "Plan A" for the upcoming season, is still among the candidates for a return to the team with which he discovered the championship in 2021.

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