Ilott opens up about his new challenge with PREMA: “Something I’ve never experienced”

Callum Illot is now embarking on a new and impressive challenge in his career. The British is the first confirmed driver at PREMA, for the first season of the Italian team in IndyCar in 2025. At 25, the Cambridge native will have to lead a new team that is discovering the American championship starting from nothing, or almost. A challenge that he nevertheless appreciates, with great esteem for PREMA.

"Everything PREMA touches is done correctly, and this is evident in all the championships the team participates in, this challenge should not be taken lightly., underlines the Englishman, who already rode with PREMA in 2017, in Formula 3. Everything is done by the book, whether it’s the people, the performances or even the appearance. I know the team has grown a lot, there’s a new headquarters in Italy that’s been expanded and it’s quite impressive. I always agreed with my friend Marcus Armstrong, who said that if PREMA came to the US, they would do a great job. I think it’s incredible to see this project come to life. What a team!”

"It will be a different project, a newer project, in the sense that it will be the first time in years that a team will start from scratch, without acquiring another team. It's something I've never experienced, but I've worked on building a small project to make it grow in the past., recalls Callum Ilott. There are a lot of unknowns and you have to work with what you have. You have to deduce things from what didn't work best, but at the same time, you have to optimize what you have. Sometimes there won't be all the answers, and you have to make it work. But at the end of the day, I think we have the right people and the right mindset. 

PREMA will also have to adapt to the hybrid system

Although he is only 25 years old, Callum Ilott already has a lot of experience across the Atlantic, having participated in two full seasons in IndyCar with Juncos Hollinger Racing as well as a few stints with McLaren this season. He has also competed in the Indianapolis 500 three times, with a best finish of 11th in 2024. The runner-up Formula 2 2020 has the baggage to guide the PREMA team to the top of the table, even if he recognizes the difficulty of the task.

“Speed ​​will be crucial in terms of speed of execution. Sometimes you can get lucky because what you have is good right away and works well. It’s rare, but it can happen, and if it doesn’t, we’ll have to adapt very quickly to compete in the first race., explains Callum Ilott. The recovery mindset is very important. Some things can take time, but it’s the unknowns that can bring uncertainty. I think the team will adapt very well in many ways. We will have competent people who will know what to do. We will have to adapt quickly to the hybrid system, which will be new to all of us, while some other teams have already tested it many times. Otherwise, it’s just a race car.”

Top 5 from the first season?

The Briton also expressed his ambitions for PREMA's first season in IndyCar, and hopes that the Italian team will manage to mix with the best on road and urban circuits in particular. “There are high expectations, and I think some of them are achievable. On any of these weekends, if you’re competitive, you can get an incredible result. You have to be there strategically, do the right things and be in the right window, and in IndyCar, those things can happen. I have no doubt we can put ourselves in good positions. It’s obviously not going to be easy. On the road courses, we have to aim for the top five. The same goes for the street courses, but again, it’s going to take a bit of adaptation.”

"As for the oval circuits, we will have to proceed step by step, he admits. We'll see. The first [oval] race will be the Indy 500, and again, even if you're prepared and you're testing well, it can get hot during the weekend and you can go out of that window. It's not that easy. But we've got a lot of good people and all the right resources, there's no reason why we can't fight at the top and show these people what we're about."

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